Autoblog

Vettel reserves the right to continue disobeying team orders

Zach Bowman — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST

So says he. While speaking with reporters, Sebastian Vettel said he would probably disobey team orders again if those orders included instructions not to challenge his teammate Mark Webber. As you may recollect, Vettel found himself in hot water after he passed Webber at the Malaysian Grand Prix to take the win. Vettel later apologized for his actions, saying, "I messed up." Apparently being sorry only goes so far. When asked if he would do the same again, Vettel said that he probably would and that his actions at the Malaysian GP were a form of indirect payback for a lack of support at past races.

Webber caught flack last season after appearing to obstruct Vettel twice at the Brazilian GP as the German driver fought for a team win against Fernando Alonso.

Moving forward, Red Bull has said it will not implement team orders at the end of a race, and Vettel has not been punished by the team for taking the win. The driver said that he failed to understand the order given during the race over the radio and that he immediately apologized to everyone involved. He also said he would have yielded the position if he had been ordered to do so.

Vettel reserves the right to continue disobeying team orders originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Infiniti Red Bull Racing set a world record pitstop time in Malaysia

John Neff — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Videos

How quickly can you change a tire? The pit crew for Infiniti Red Bull Racing can do it in 2.05 seconds. Actually, they can change four tires in 2.05 seconds, and they did just that at the Grand Prix of Malaysia two weeks ago, setting a new world record for the quickest pitstop in the process.

There must've been something in the water over there in Malaysia, as the old pitstop record of 2.31 seconds set by McLaren in Germany last year fell six times during the course of the race. Five of those record-beating pitstops were performed by Infiniti Red Bull Racing, one for Sebastian Vettel on his first stop, which took 2.13 seconds, and four for fellow driver Mark Webber, who brought his car in on Lap 19 for what would be the quickest pitstop of the day and the new world record. Three other Webber pitstops were under the old record's time, and even team McLaren apparently beat its old record in Malaysia with a best time of 2.28 seconds.

What does a 2.05-second pitstop look like? Scroll down to watch these expert car handlers reshoe an entire car in less time than it takes you to find a tire iron. We've also included a video of the previous record-setting pitstop by McLaren that stood for about a year.

Continue reading Watch Infiniti Red Bull Racing set a world record pitstop time in Malaysia

Watch Infiniti Red Bull Racing set a world record pitstop time in Malaysia originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Race Recap: 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix is a fool in the rain

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari

Humidity, hunger and heartbreak were the takeaways from the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix. A proper track with a wider variety of straights and corners than the street circuit in Australia, the second race of the season was expected to be a better test of the performance of the 11 teams on the grid. It was also supposed to be a more accurate test of the Pirelli tires, the bits of rubber at the four corners of the car still at the top of the performance agenda for all the top teams except for McLaren, which even larger issues with its new car to deal with.

Then it rained. Then it rained some more. Then it rained so hard just before the race that numerous drivers slid off the track on the parade lap. Then came the race, and then came the figurative tears and ones of the crocodile variety as well.

Continue reading Race Recap: 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix is a fool in the rain

Race Recap: 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix is a fool in the rain originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9 [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Infiniti, Racing

This is the car and the team that everyone wants to dethrone. The stability of this year's regulations means that the Infiniti Red Bull RB9 is a seriously honed RB8; however, that's a situation probably no other team would complain about seeing that the RB8 recovered from early stumbles and reliability issues last year to carry Sebastian Vettel to a third consecutive driver's title and the team to a third consecutive constructor's trophy.

The most noteworthy revisions to the car are the partial vanity panel that omits the driver cooling slot, the even narrower rear end - a feature of just about every car launched so far - and purple sidepods to showcase new title sponsor Infiniti. Adrian Newey, perhaps the most feared designer on the pit lane, said the nose and front wing could be changed relatively easily throughout the season, but he wanted to make sure to get the middle of the car - everything from the sidepods, back - as good as possible since they're more difficult to re-engineer. His track record leads us to believe he did just that.

Below are two videos, one of the making of the RB9, the other the launch at team headquarters in Milton Keynes.

Continue reading Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9 [w/video]

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull Racing looks back on its young but impressive history

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Racing

It's been said that Red Bull is a marketing company that happens to sell energy drinks, and it's an argument that is not without merit. After all, nearly every form of motorsport (in addition to non-engine-powered sports) has some sort of sponsorship deal with the Austrian drink maker, and nowhere is that more recognizable than in Formula One.

Underlining that point is the video below. In it, you'll see how, in just five years' worth of time, Red Bull Racing has gone from an unknown quantity to the undisputed team to beat at the pinnacle of motorsport. Sure, RBR can't boast nearly as much history and tradition as teams like Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus, but it sure is hard to argue with its results.

Check out the full 30-minute video below.

Continue reading Red Bull Racing looks back on its young but impressive history

Red Bull Racing looks back on its young but impressive history originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 Dec 2012 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Recap: Days 2 and 3 notes, quotes, and takeaways from the US Grand Prix

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Infiniti

The Texas grass no longer rustles with 2.4-liter V8 exhaust blown at 18,000 revs, the Texas dust is no longer raised by hard-compound Pirellis. We saw a lot and learned a lot while we were there as guests of Infiniti, and after our Day 1 and race recaps, here are the bits left over from our time spent with the carmaker and Red Bull Racing, including thoughts on a "wicked" race, Christian Horner's quest for a more level playing field, Infiniti "going longer and deeper," and why Mario Andretti should get a police escort at the beginning of a race but not a microphone at the end...

Continue reading Final Recap: Days 2 and 3 notes, quotes, and takeaways from the US Grand Prix

Final Recap: Days 2 and 3 notes, quotes, and takeaways from the US Grand Prix originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grand Prix of the Americas, Day 1 Recap: a city arose in the fields, and it was good

Jonathon Ramsey — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:14:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Infiniti

The Circuit of the Americas is the miracle in the fields, the track that no one thought would be finished in time to hold its appointed race. But the Texans got past the turmoil, and even though the heavy machinery was still working on dirt roads as July, come November 18 there was a beautiful, and completed, Formula 1 facility for Travis County to call its own. It was dusty, sure. But it was done, and F1 could come to town.

Infiniti, sponsors of Red Bull Racing, invited Autoblog to watch the first grand prix in America since 2007, and the first GP on a dedicated F1 course since the Phoenix street circuit in 1991. Here's a little recap of what we saw and fount out on day one.

Continue reading Grand Prix of the Americas, Day 1 Recap: a city arose in the fields, and it was good

Grand Prix of the Americas, Day 1 Recap: a city arose in the fields, and it was good originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch F1's Mark Webber race a skydiver in Montreal [w/video]

Noah Joseph — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Infiniti, Canada

If Sebastian Vettel's foray into the Kung Fu movie scene struck you as a bit of a stretch, this latest publicity stunt from Infiniti and Red Bull could be more your speed.

While in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, Australian Formula One driving ace Mark Webber headed up to north the ICAR circuit at Mirabel airport - the same place where we were schooled by the Jacques Villeneuve Academy a couple of years back - for another kind of race altogether.

That's where he met up with Jon DeVore, a competitive skydiver also sponsored by Red Bull and Infiniti. Jon showed Mark how to use a wind tunnel for something other than testing the aerodynamics of his racing car and Mark showed Jon how to get the most out of an Infiniti G37S on the track. The day culminated as it only could: with a race.

Webber took off from the start/finish line at ICAR at the same time that DeVore jumped out of a helicopter and both raced - one flat and one free-falling - towards the checkered flag. Scroll down to watch the video clip for the results and for the full press release, and scope out the high-resolution images in the gallery above for a closer look at the action.

Continue reading Watch F1's Mark Webber race a skydiver in Montreal [w/video]

Watch F1's Mark Webber race a skydiver in Montreal [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Webber signs on for another year with Red Bull Racing

Noah Joseph — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:35:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

The relationship between Mark Webber and the Red Bull Racing team he drives for has often been more of a rocky road than smooth tarmac. The two parties have butted heads more than a handful of times, but at the end of the day, they're a good match. And so the team has announced that it has signed the Australian driver for another season of F1 racing.

The announcement puts to rest all manner of rumors of Webber's replacement, including the potential return of Kimi Raikkonen, who's already sponsored by the same energy drink company in his rally pursuits.

From Webber's perspective, it can't be fun playing second fiddle to his junior wingman Sebastian Vettel, but the bottom line is that - having previously driven for Minardi, Jaguar and Williams - he never did as well as he's done these past few seasons at Red Bull, advancing from "also ran" status to fourth place in the 2009 world championship, third in last year's and the second place at which he currently stands this season. Official announcement in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Mark Webber signs on for another year with Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber signs on for another year with Red Bull Racing originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vettel and Webber hit the Nürburgring in pair of Infiniti M sedans

Noah Joseph — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:56:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrid, Sedan, Marketing/Advertising, Infiniti, Luxury, Racing

This past weekend, the Formula One circus rolled into Eifel for the German Grand Prix. And though it was campaigned once again at the Nürburgring, the race was held on the GP-Strecke. The infamous Nordschleife hasn't been used for F1 racing since the early 80s, when it was deemed too dangerous for modern open-wheelers. But while they were on site, championship leaders Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and their sponsor Infiniti didn't miss the opportunity for a little wheel-to-wheel action around the Green Hell.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance's premium marque that powers Seb's and Mark's Red Bull race cars put the duo on the Norschleife in a pair of Infiniti Ms, but here's the kicker: while Webber got the keys to the M37s sport sedan, Vettel climbed into the M35h hybrid.

So which driver had the advantage? Considering that Infiniti claims that the M35h is the world's quickest hybrid sedan and its most powerful car on the market - hitting 62 mph from a standstill in 5.5 seconds versus the conventional M37s' 6.2 - it looks like Vettel was set to get the jump on his elder wingman once again. Follow the jump to watch the video footage to find out.

Continue reading Vettel and Webber hit the Nürburgring in pair of Infiniti M sedans

Vettel and Webber hit the Nürburgring in pair of Infiniti M sedans originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raikkonen to replace Webber at Red Bull?

Noah Joseph — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

If you were watching the British Grand Prix this past weekend, you may have noticed a little friction in the Red Bull Racing team. And we're not talking about Sebastian Vettel and his team's jammed wheel gun that cost him the race.

In the closing laps of the race, Mark Webber had closed in right on Vettel's tail in a close fight for second place. But then the team radioed Webber and instructed him to back off. Webber ignored the team orders and kept pressing, and while he didn't manage to get by and didn't cause either to crash, it undoubtedly caused some consternation on Red Bull's pit wall.

Now rumor has it that the team is so angry with their No. 2 driver that they're preparing to give him the boot. In his place, according to reports, the reigning champions are planning on bringing in Kimi Raikkonen.

Of course this isn't the first time Raikkonen has been linked to an F1 return with Red Bull Racing. The 2007 champion left F1 a couple of years ago after Ferrari shoved him out the nest (with a big golden parachute, mind you), competing since in the World Rally Championship and in NASCAR, but has never ruled out a grand prix comeback.

Kimi's long been sponsored by Red Bull (the energy drink company that owns the F1 team in question), and apparently has close personal ties to Vettel. But few people know for sure whether the team orders incident at Silverstone was enough to break the proverbial camel's back in the often strained relations between Webber and RBR's management.

Raikkonen to replace Webber at Red Bull? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Sebastian Vettel on the benefits of KERS, adjustable rear wing

Aaron Richardson — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:54:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Technology, Videos, Racing

Sebastian Vettel on KERS - Click above to view video after the jump

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, winner of last weekend's Formula 1 opening round in Australia, has taken to YouTube to explain what the addition of KERS and and an adjustable rear wing means for drivers. Technically speaking, KERS is good for a six-second, 80-horsepower boost.

According to Vettel, that's best used as a way to help get off the grid ahead of the pack, or sneak through a gap in traffic at the start of a race. Otherwise, it can be used to hold off an attack during the race or as an edge going for the overtake.

The adjustable rear wing is only available as an overtaking aid at certain points in a race within a specified distance of an opponent. It's designed to reduce the increased drag when a driver steps out of the slipstream and into clean air. By reducing the wing's pitch, the driver can lose some of the increased resistance. Click past the jump for Vettel's explanation.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Sebastian Vettel on the benefits of KERS, adjustable rear wing

Video: Sebastian Vettel on the benefits of KERS, adjustable rear wing originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vettel snags pole for Australian GP

Aaron Richardson — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Australia, Racing

2011 Red Bull RB7 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Red Bull is once again looking strong as it heads into Formula One's opening round in Australia. Red Bull ace and last year's champ Sebastien Vettel took pole position for Sunday's race by nearly a second in Saturday qualifying. Mark Webber, Vettel's teammate and Australia's hometown hero, wound up third behind Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull claims that neither of its drivers used their KERS (Kinetic Energy Regeneration System) during qualifying, which is usually good for .3 seconds a lap. That means, in theory anyway, Vettel has a potential 1.5 second advantage over the competition when the green flag waves tomorrow.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is sandwiched between the two Red Bulls in second, while teammate and 2009 champ Jenson Button sits fourth behind Webber. Fernando Alonso is fifth in the first of the Ferraris ahead of Vitaly Petrov for Renault. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg is seventh, ahead of the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa. Kamui Kobayashi sits ninth for Sauber and Sebastien Buemi rounds out the top 10 for Toro Rosso.

Gallery: 2011 Red Bull RB7

[Source: AutoWeek]

Vettel snags pole for Australian GP originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Mark Webber on the "naughty" Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Jeff Glucker — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Porsche, Racing

Mark Webber throws around his Porsche 911 GT2 RS - Click above to watch video after the jump

Mark Webber, or Webbah as ~~we like to pretend~~ he prefers, is an accomplished racing driver with a handful of wins and podium appearances at the very top of the mororsports plateau. It's safe to say that he knows how to drive a car, and he understands what he wants out of his road cars. His chariot of choice? The Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

We don't really need to explain why a racecar driver would choose a 620-horsepower track-ready street assassin. However, Porsche felt like having Webber discuss the car and it did so with the cameras rolling. Click past the jump to hear Mark Webber talk about the car and watch him toss it (and some speechless passengers) around Silverstone.

[Source: Youtube via Axis-of-Oversteer]

Continue reading Video: Mark Webber on the "naughty" Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Video: Mark Webber on the "naughty" Porsche 911 GT2 RS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Formula One drivers loathe technology creep

Jeff Glucker — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology, Racing

Are Formula One cars getting too sophisticated? A handful of drivers think so... and they're beginning to speak out about the technology creep invading their vehicles. A modern F1 car utilizes aerodynamics that are adjustable on the fly and a steering wheel fitted with more buttons than Jenson's last family reunion.

Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing feels that driving his car is akin to jailbreaking a phone. The drivers need 100% of their focus on the race, and pushing a button to adjust the rear spoiler can take away from that. Weber isn't alone with these feelings as Rubens Barichello and Nico Rosberg have expressed similar sentiments.

Driving a Forumla One car is one of the most demanding jobs on the planet. It takes levels of concentration far above what the average person expands on another round of Angry Birds. Adding greater levels of sophistication and complexity sounds like it makes the already difficult task of keeping the machine on the road that much harder.

[Source: Crunch Gear]

Formula One drivers loathe technology creep originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mark Webber reveals he secretly raced with a broken shoulder

Noah Joseph — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.

Mark Webber hoists himself out of his RB6 with a broken shoulder at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix

If we had one bit of advice for Mark Webber, it would be to stay the heck off of mountain bikes and stick to winning grand prix races. The Australian Formula One driver, as you may recall, suffered a broken leg and shoulder when he crashed his bike in Tasmania late in 2008. The injury almost forced him out of the 2009 season, but he recovered in time for the start of the championship at his home race in Australia and went on to finish fourth in the standings - his best result up to that point in his career. You'd figure the close call might keep him from jeopardizing his career again, but you'd be wrong.

The Aussie contender just released his book, Mark Webber Up Front in which he revealed a second mountain bike accident earlier this year, the first time he got back on two wheels since the previous crash. According to Webber's account, he fractured his shoulder again after colliding with a friend while cycling offroad around the time of the Japanese Grand Prix. By the start of the race, the fracture had yet to recover, so he kept it secret from the public and from his team, took an injection and raced the grueling Suzuka track with the injury. If you picture how much an F1 driver gets tossed around the cabin and how much he has to turn that wheel, often against extreme G-forces, you'll have some idea of how excruciating the pain must have been.

Webber went on to qualify on pole and finish the race in second place - a remarkable result even without taking the injury into account, even more so considering the pain he must have been enduring. Given the revelation, though, we can't help but wonder if more harm was caused to the trust between the racer and his team than was inflicted on his shoulder in the first place.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP]

Mark Webber reveals he secretly raced with a broken shoulder originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 take us on a tour of Spa Francorchamps

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

Red Bull's Mark Webber running Spa for the Red Bulletin - Click above to watch video after the jump

Although all the F1 focus was on Hungaroring this past weekend, Red Bull is gearing up for the race at Spa at the end of August. This time it's Mark Webber taking us around the Spa Francorchamps circuit in the Red Bull simulator, and if we can offer a little advice: he might want to be a bit more careful through Eau Rouge come race time... There'll be an augmented reality feature on the track at www.redbulletin.com soon, but for now you can follow the jump for the video.

UPDATE: Video linked fixed.

[Source: Red Bulletin]

Continue reading Video: Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 take us on a tour of Spa Francorchamps

Video: Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 take us on a tour of Spa Francorchamps originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 makes pit stop in... Parliament Square?

Zach Bowman — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:58:00 EST

Mark Webber goes for a pit stop in London - Click above to watch video after the jump

The new Formula One rules have made it a pain for teams to get in any sort of practice these days. While that's an issue for drivers, it's just as much of a challenge for the guys working the pits. So we can imagine that when Red Bull was able to pull some strings for Mark Webber to perform a complete pit stop in front of England's House of Parliament in London, the team was probably thrilled to get their gloves dirty. The stunt was designed to promote the upcoming British Grand Prix scheduled to kick off on July 9 at Silverstone.

Webber hadn't been in the cockpit since his stunning crash in Valencia, but the Australian driver looks to be fit enough to go tire-to-tire with the rest of the field in less than a week. Likewise, the Red Bull pit crew seems to be doing just fine as well. The crew reportedly managed a 3.2-second pit stop in downtown London. Hit the jump to see the video of the action for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Peter!

[Source: Autosport]

Continue reading Video: Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 makes pit stop in... Parliament Square?

Video: Mark Webber and Red Bull F1 makes pit stop in... Parliament Square? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull extends Mark Webber's contract for another season

Noah Joseph — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:41:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

When you're topping the championship standings, you usually don't have to worry about finding a ride for next season. Mark Webber and Red Bull Racing are a bit of a special case, though. For one thing, at 34 years old, Webber isn't the youngest driver on the grid. (That distinction belongs to his team-mate Sebastian Vettel.) For another, Red Bull's one of the most secretive teams on the grid. And Webber's in the middle of some controversy regarding a crash during last week's Turkish Grand Prix.

For these and many more reasons, much speculation has revolved around Webber's ride for next year, but that speculation can now be put to rest as Red Bull has confirmed the extension of his contract for another season. With Vettel already contracted for a couple more years to come, the announcement effectively confirms the team's line-up for 2011 with the same two drivers it's been running since David Coulthard retired at the end of 2008. It also places Red Bull alongside Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus as the only teams to secure its line-up for the season to come. Follow the jump for the official announcement.

[Source: Red Bull]

Continue reading Red Bull extends Mark Webber's contract for another season

Red Bull extends Mark Webber's contract for another season originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Webber-Vettel crash at Turkish GP still shrouded in mystery

Noah Joseph — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:19:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Rumormill

Those who caught our post-race coverage of the Turkish Grand Prix last weekend may still be scratching their heads wondering what happened. With the bulk of the race behind them, Red Bull Racing looked set to sail to a 1-2 finish, with Mark Webber (left) leading virtually uninhibited from pole. But then the unthinkable happened: Sebastian Vettel (right), who had been catching up to his teammate, moved to pass for the lead, but instead crashed into his wingman's car. Webber recuperated and took third place, but Vettel's race was over.

The big question on everyone's mind, however, is what exactly went wrong, and more pressingly, who was at fault. Opinions appeared divided among fans, pundits, even the team itself, and nobody was saying a thing. To observers it seemed obvious that Vettel was at fault, yet no clear attribution of guilt was issued. So what exactly happened?

Team orders, according to some speculation. The team claims it doesn't issue its drivers such controversial directives, but some reports indicated that just before the crash, team principal Christian Horner told Webber's race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam to instruct his driver to let Vettel by. Pilbeam reportedly refused - or simply neglected - to pass on the message, leaving Webber clueless to the plan.

If such team orders were indeed issued, Red Bull certainly isn't about to admit it. Pilbeam could get the old heave-ho as a result, but what good is a scapegoat if you can't place blame on him, anyway?

[Source: GrandPrix.com | Image: Cristina Quicler/AFP/Getty]

Webber-Vettel crash at Turkish GP still shrouded in mystery originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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