Sunday, May 30, 2010

Horner gets Red Bull clash call wrong


Christian Horner, the Red Bull team boss, appeared to blame Mark Webber for the clash between the Red Bull F1 cars at the Turkish GP.

The two team mates came together on lap 41 of the race as Sebastian Vettel tried to overtake Mark Webber into turn 12.

The two cars made contact as they approached the corner causing Vettel to retire from the race and Webber to pit for a new nosecone.

Horner appeared to blame Webber, who eventually finished third, claiming the Australian should have given Vettel more room given he was behind at the time of the clash.

In my opinion, that is the incorrect call and I agree with the opinions of BBC F1 presenters Martin Brundle and David Coulthard.

Horner claimed that Vettel had the right to go for the lead because he had managed to save fuel in comparison to Webber and therefore didn't have to turn down his engine.

Webber would have been less able to save fuel having spent the first stint defending from the feisty Hamilton, so I don't think this is a fair stance to take.

Regardless of who deserved to win the race, just because a driver manages to save fuel does not give them the right to turn across another driver on the straight.

Whether or not one driver does not give the other much room does not alter this fact.

Vettel clearly turned right across Webber when you take the reference point as the white line on the left hand side of the circuit as the cars approach turn 12.

For this reason, I lay the blame squarely with Vettel.

It will be interesting to see how this incident has an impact upon the team as the season progresses.

Image courtesy of Derek Noh - Wikimedia
Vettel leads Webber at the Chinese GP, 2009

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