Mark Webber won the British Grand Prix after Sebastian Vettel went off on the first lap and had to pit and dropped to the back of the field. The German would later be lucky when a Safety Car came out, which allowed him to close up almost a minute and in the latter stages of the race he was able to move up the order to finish seventh. But Webber walked it to victory, and during his slowing down lap radioed the team with the message: “not bad for a second driver”. He is now ahead of Vettel in the World Championship and so, logically-speaking, he will be given the better equipment if the team has only one of the new parts available. Webber made the point that there was no way he would have signed the contract for next year if he known what was going to happen on the Saturday.
Once ahead there was no stopping the Australian, who dominated the race with Lewis Hamilton doing his best to hang on. The McLaren driver was delighted to finish second and maintained his lead in the World Championship. Nico Rosberg ended up on the podium in third, benefiting from the misadventures of others, notably Ferrari which blew its chances. The two drivers collided on the first lap. After that Fernando Alonso gained a place by straight-lining a corner and did not give the place back and so earned himself a drive-through penalty. There was no-one to blame on this occasion but the drivers. The team left Silverstone with no points.
Renault failed to score after Robert Kubica dropped out with a technical problem, while Williams and Sauber both scored well and moved forward.
Niki Lauda again blaimed Webber …for Vettel mistake
I believe the word is Karma.
Yes indeed. Ironic that schadenfreude is a German word! Webber drove an excellent race, and Jenson’s first lap was superb. Well worth watching the onboard footage.
Other than Red Bull shooting themselves in the foot, Ferrari managed to shoot themselves in the face. Aside from a poor start, and crashing into his team mate, Alonso had a shocker. If he’d only given the place back to Kubica straight away, he’d have probably avoided the drive through. I say probably because that’s exactly what Lewis did against Kimi at Spa, and still got punished. However much Ferrari try to blame others, they only have themselves to blame. Good to see Luca Coliani on television again. Not seen him fora year or so. He seems to have spent the time eating. He also reminds me of Sadam Hussain’s press officer, Comical Ali. Does he see the same things we do?
Lewis drove an excellent race too.
All in all, a very pleasing result that seems to have re-adjusted a few ‘inconsistencies’!
I’m looking forward to Mark’s autobiography. “Tell it how it is” would be one of the more polite possible titles
is Horner clueless about team harmony ? Or is he using Enzo Ferrari’s book on driver motivation? which as we know was a lightly re-written version of The Prince by another famous Italian.
highly controversial, I wonder how Red Bull can continue like this without imploding. The comments immediately after the race – ‘not bad for a number 2′ and also that he wouldn’t have signed a contract for next year etc. etc. surprise me. In some ways its great that Webber is speaking his mind; but I also think that the media are now playing a big part in spinning up this red bull conflict and that there is probably more to it all than meets the eye… plus if I was a driver and I knew I would be in the best car this year and then the next, I might keep my trap shut…
The best thing for me this year is just watching how brilliant everything is working at Mclaren, and really enjoying that; Lewis is driving brilliantly, and Jenson is proving everyone wrong by being just as good as him, in a totally different way.
Well the gloves are off and it is gonna get ugly.
Niether party is going to win out of this and I find it hard to see Webber driving for RBR next year. But I doubt that there is a competitive seat anywhere for him to move.
Webber won and proved a point. The comment about not bad for driver no 2 was as flipant as the Vettel hand gesture after Turkey. However the comment about contract should have been made in house not in public. The sport is greater than the individual and where would Webber go next year if he doe not want Red Bull.
Joe, while [what happened between Alonso and Kubica) may be the driver’s – i.e. Alonso’s – fault, that does not excuse such a harsh punishment. Because he couldn’t give one place back, he had to lose lots of places? Even without the SC he would have been severely disadvantaged.
Grit and karma over the princess. And good on him to air it out. Hope he wins championship then gives V’s finger to RB.
The Princess? Are you referring to the man they call Princess Petal?
Great drive by Mark “The flying Kangaroo” Webber! Whenever Lewis tried to reel him in, he responded beautifully. Never out of shape, direct and strong from the first corner to the last!
A thought though, is the racing going to take a back seat to the politics and paddock fights this season? It’s getting pretty nasty there.
Webber was a bit antagonistic over the radio with his “Number 2″ comment, but the “Think you might crack a smile” rejoiner wasn’t exactly polite either.
I think it’s fair to say that Vettel is favoured. Horner is saying it’s due to championship position, and the next few races will show us if that’s true, or a bunch of crap.
It was a great turn around for Webber though. From being flung skyward to lifting the trophy, despite dealing with a bunch of off track distractions. Before each race, his engineer needs to give him a kick in the nuts, because it seems that the angrier Webber is, the faster he drives.
Germany will be very, very interesting…..
I think that Weber is driving for his F1 life! Unless he wins the divers championship I suspect that he will become another “ex” Red Bull driver. He would do well to remember that once you have signed a contract you must follow the contract, and I would think that his contract would contain words to the effect that he must not say anything negative against the team and its sponsors, as indeed the teams side of it would also include not saying anything negative against the driver. It woul also contain words that he must follow all legal and lawful team orders.
As I wrote recently, there is always a surprise in F1 and I dont think that its wise for M.Weber to rock the boat that feeds him while there is one K.Raikkonen “rolling” around in a Red Bull Citroen.
I think that a Kimi car would look very good to both driver and team if the “team” fails to win a championship because one of its current drivers fails to “play the game”
Cort,
Fair or not, those are the rules. Look at what happened to Hamilton in Spa 2008 for a heavier punishment and a similar offence, the difference being that Hamilton gave the place back but was still penalised.
Alonso was in breach of Article 30.3a of the Sporting Regs, and as such the stewards had a limited choice of penalties to hand down.
Great race from Mark Webber. I can echo the thoughts of everybody that I hope he wins the WDC, and still keep driving for RBR but then assuming the 2nd pos role to Vettel. I mean what would he still have to prove. Imagine the hell he would have given Shumi if he was Barrichello at Ferrari. He refuses to give up, and fights for what is his. As a tough sportsman (triathlons.., wow) he will allways have the edge over the androgyn muppet. Besides, his rugged good looks would be better marketable than the hermaphrodite. I wonder if anybody still doubts Sebastien Bourdais had talent when he was Vettel´s teammate. I bet that the one eyed kampf-doctor Marko had some interfering there too. Bourdais was a proven winner, and still is in my eyes. Somebody should get his opinion about this mess. I admire Mark´s cool in his reply to Horner. Surely the flip-sign the girl-muppet made in Turkey was less respectfull. Finally mr Saward, I came across your blog through a reference made in PF1, and now I can´t stop reading. Excellent, as Montgomery Burns would say.
webber man on a mission…great race he has great belief in himself and can still win Horner now must stand up a be counted.. Lewis & Jenson these 2 are fantastic great forsight by jenson to go to Mclaren i really didnt think they could work as team mates…but they are sensational well done….
As always Joe shows the fairness of their comments. We must not blame the Alonso penalty, we all know who he is. The harshness of the penalty is inversely proportional to that was applied to Hamilton. What happens is that McLaren gained an advantage was not passing the safety car on purpose, we applied a penalty which was not penalized. Spanish is applied to a penalty not provided for in regulation with a maneuver that avoided the impact with a car and past and casually applied to SC on track. Write what you want Mr. Saward, but not disguise the reality, out of respect for a hobby, for the honor of pure competition. Do not you realize how these situations discredit the rest of the world to those of the rest of the drivers?
What a shame!
Why didnt they just give Alonso a 5 sec penalty? It would seem to be much more commensurate with the incident than a drive through.
Princess Petal? You mean one of the drivers has managed to earn himself such a nickname?!? I had enough trouble getting my head around Rosberg getting nicknamed “Britney”…
What a great race. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is ironic how things turned out given the “wing-gate” affair.
Isn’t it also ironic that Webber spent time earlier in the week trying to talk up the potential for disharmony at McLaren yet the only place where there is serious division is Red Bull.
Webber & Vettel have seemingly now completely lost respect for one another as demonstrated by their post race comments, particularly those of Vettel. “From now on I shall think only of myself”.
It is such a shame Fernando declined the usual (compuslory?) post race interviews as he’s great when he’s angry. I’d like to have heard what he had to say. He must have been really cheesed off, even though he brought it on himself.
Such a shame for Mark. After all his years of struggles for him to have this success tainted in this way. Hope he isn’t compromised for next year although if he is a free agent it might be interesting if he were to renew his relationship with Mercedes assuming there’s a seat available!
Sorry but about the Alonso punishment I think have been a desmessure. That´s the way the Fia promote the overtaking punishing with a drive true? I agree that if the move have been incorrect the driver must return the position or when that s not possible then punish with one position o losing 5 o or 10 segons at the end of the race.
Mark Webber. The best looking man in the whole of F1 and very deserving of his victory!!
Do they really call him Princess Petal? He certainly does seem to need to be nurtured like a rare and delicate flower…
Gosh, this is good stuff. You could barely make out the words “Well done Mark you’ve won the British Grand Prix” over the noise of Christian Horner’s teeth grinding — like some kind of strange dental vuvuzela.
And while the Turkey contretemps could be dismissed with a happy-happy photo-op labelled “Shit happens”, the current situation will surely linger and fester, if only because Mark now seems to have realised that he is being stitched up.
Where can he go if he leaves after this season? Renault would be a decent fit if they have the resources to pay him; I still think Williams would be good as well — they could presumably lend Hulkenberg to Sauber or somewhere for a year or two… But it’s hard to imagine Webber wanting to stay in the current environment any longer than necessary — or Marko & Co. putting up with the distractions from chasing the title.
Good on Webber! I love when justice is served. I also disagree that Webber should keep it in house. Why should he? Has the upper echelon of Red Bull kept it in house? No. Webber has every right….every right, to air the dirty laundry. After all….the dirt isn’t coming from him now is it?
I am amazingly happy that Mark won today. He deserved it more than anyone. He showed true Aussie grit and although I may have preferred a British driver winning I feel that justice was fully served to the Red Bull team
Cort – that’s the point of a penalty, yes? To hurt you worse than if you’d never sinned to start with, and so convince you not to sin again.
(Of course, the SC made it worse yet, but that was a fluke rather than a design)
I think maybe Webber and everyone are making too big of a basically non-issue. Really, the new wing didn’t appear to be worth anything on the track so who cares? Vettel is typically 2/10th quicker than Webber anyway, so being only 1/10th quicker in Q3 means the wing is nothing or even a minus. The most professional thing would be to just shut up about it and get on with the job. He definitely got on with the job and congrats to him for a great start and drive. Now, he just needs to just let it go and not add fuel to the fire, which only damages the team and, ultimately, himself. If the wing was worth any real time, it MIGHT be different (might depends on how much time), but since it wasn’t just (as they say in New Jersey) forgetaboutit! If he keeps his cool and continues to out-race Vettel, he’ll be the World Champion at the end of the season. If he just pisses off the team, then he will be truly relegated to a 2nd driver and Vettel will hoist the trophy.
And why does it take F1 stewards so long to do the simpliest of things? In Indycar, if a guy goes off-course to pass someone, he (or she) is immediately told to give the position back; immediately! Aren’t the Stewards watching the race? Isn’t it obvious what to do? I thought having the ex-drivers would help the Stewards, but with the identical screwup in delaying the penalty in Valencia and Silverstone, they’ve effectively taken Alonso out of the championship chase. I don’t believe that was their intent, but just do the job and get on with it. Just another example of how F1 can learn from Indycar (Safety cars, Medical teams, crash response, etc.). For all their funding, shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Sir Stirling Moss, pre-race comment on the Red Bull wing swap.
Q/
“I think what Mark Webber should do is say ‘Okay, give him the best parts, and I’ll go out and beat him anyway’.”
/Q
Wisdom!
Joe,
The pit reporter for the US broadcast suggested that the wing swap decision was neither Horner’s nor Newey’s. He said that team insiders had confirmed to him that the directive to swap wings had come directly DIRECTLY from Austria. The clear suggestion being that either Helmut Marko or Dietrich Mateschitz had ordered the change, perhaps at Vettel’s urging.
This insider’s story is clearly at odds with what Christian Horner has told the press, namely that Adrian Newey made the decision. Has Horner again been caught in a web of lies while trying to hide Helmut Marko’s machinations?
If the Austrian bosses think they can quietly favor Vettel without the (mostly British) crew leaking it to the press, they’re even bigger fools than I’ve previously thought. Webber is about as close as one can come to being British without having been born in Britain. They won’t find it easy to screw him without the entire world finding out.
It seems insane that Mateschitz would risk both World Championships in order to favor an Austrian winner, but the team’s actions leave no doubt as to this truth. I can only surmise that Mateschitz and Marko are so convinced of the team’s dominance that they foolishly believe they can afford the many own-goals they are causing.
Perhaps they can, but I believe that sort of arrogance will almost certainly gift the championship to McLaren. A shame for Webber, but a just dessert for the meddling bosses who are making these disastrous decisions.
It’s a quandry isn’t it? Now that things have been said about driver equality and Webber is their leading driver in the WC, you would expect him to get the new bits (based on what Horner said on Saturday), but wait a minute…….because of the complaints from Webber et al, isn’t it a shoe-in that Red Bull will now make sure there is equality, thus showing once again that Vettel is the favoured son………..or that Webber is not…same thing isnt it?
Joe,
Can you confirm that this was indeed the chassis that Vettel rejected after the Monaco and Spain, because it had a “problem”? I believe I read that in a number of places.
And is the team willing to comment on what this “problem” was, and whether it was fixed?
SR
The Red Bull marketing tag is “Red Bull gives you wings” I guess that still applies to Seb but not Mark. I’d love to see Mark win the title after all that has happened.
We keep reading how RB, or Marko, or Mateschitz, want Vettel as the face of Red Bull – young champion, gives you wings etc and so forth.
I would have thought that the image of the old war horse Webber, fighting off youth with experience, and favoritism with good old fashioned energy and guts, is rather more potent for selling their stuff.
I was never a Webber fan but have definitely admired how he handled things after Turkey + his win last night.
I cannot believe Horner’s jumbled explanation of his difficult decision. One sentence he claims the advantage of the new wing is negligible then the next he says he has to give it to Vettel because he’s ahead in the WC.
Meanwhile I wish Alonso/Ferrari would stop whining.
The penalty was harsh so I wonder if the stewards were annoyed at Ferrari’s comments after Valencia.
What is the feeling in the paddock Joe, is there anyone besides you that likes Webber? He’s boring and won’t win the championship and his sarcastic comment is actually true – he IS a number two driver. Horner’s tone of voice on the radio was hilarious – “you have won the British Grand Prix” – he might as well have added “but no one cares”.
Horner and Marko should probably be put on notice by mr red bull. They are looking like punters when it comes to running a professional racing team at the highest level; F1. Just too young and inexperienced. Cars are falling apart all year, the team seems to be in kaos. Its like WW2 in the garage. He would be a better fit as Ferarri team manager?
The ultimate experienced professional who is also fast , Webber has put up with a lot this year and kept his mouth shut until this weekend. You could see other drivers were on Webbers side after race. I would not be surprised if Vettel and Horner will be booed at races later in year, certainly in Australia next year. That is a lot of money Red Bull is spending to create a PR nightmare in all countries in the world except Germany and Austria.
Vettel appears from the outside to be a young snotty nosed , spoiled little princess with a sense of entitlement who got sand kicked in his face at the beach. What a PR night mare.
Vettel is probably too inexperienced to be given team leadership and the responsibility it entails this early in career.
Niki Lauda seems to have lost it, previously a wise observer of the sport, first he says Schumacher will come good after a few races – proven to be incorrect so far, (Nico Rosberg is still running rings around him) now he says Webber was in wrong at first corner – clearly wrong. Just because they speak german Niki does not mean anything.
There should probably be no favoritism and no hint of it, until much later in the year when its clear who is the best chance to win. It is not clear yet at all. McLaren seems to be running along those lines and with a slower car leads both constructers and drivers championships.
Webber seems to be winning races despite the jingoistic management of the team ! Webber has the grit to do the job it seems when his back is to the wall. He has proven now beyond doubt that he has the hunger and killer instinct to win that many Australian sportspeople have. That is what wins championships – given same chance.
I think Webber’s comments are more about firing up Vettel (who appears to make mistakes when angry) than being against Red Bull. Yes, they are also because Webber is unhappy about Red Bull doing certain things but if that’s all there was to it then he’d have kept it in house.
Some drivers only say controversial things in public for a specific reason.
[...] Webber settles the score… Mark Webber won the British Grand Prix after Sebastian Vettel went off on the first lap and had to pit and dropped to [...] [...]
It looks to me like Red Bull Racing have been presented with a GOLDEN PR opportunity to once and for all prove they are 100% supportive of MW and STOP any media/fan backlash after this past weekend.
How?
1. Horner needs to make a statement from the team that reflects a deep understanding & acknowledgement of Marks feelings after “wing-gate” (ironic that the team that “gives you wings” – also takes them from you)
2. The statement should acknowledge an understanding of why he made his comments post race on the radio but also that the hard decision WAS made on championship standings – & there is nothing wrong with that. It was not planned – it was an unfortunate situation ..but “shit happens”
3. Afirm his previous statement that the driver highest on the championship ladder has priority – which will be interesting at Petels home race in 2 weeks
4. Confirm the committment to the number 6 side of the garage- there is a team to think about here Mr. H
5. Acknowledge there was an unfortunate set of circumstances leading the team to have only 2 of the new wings ready in time – a situation the team will NOT allow to develop again
6. Acknowledge Marks YEARS of development with the team – and his input into the cars development over that time
7. Confirm that – as no situation like this will be allowed to happen again – both drivers will be given the same spec cars for the remaining races thereby making a number 1 or 2 driver tag irrelevant – or relevant to championship standing alone as per his earlier statement.
On his behalf – Mark could admit to making a few hasty & potentially inflamitory comments in the immediate aftermath of the race – given the stresses and pressure placed on “his team” over the weekend.
He may need to apologise over the contract comment – but by making it – it alerts the media to the fact that some favoritism may be shown….and that is NOT part of his deal. Now – instead of just having the eyes of his closest team members and inner circle watching for it INSIDE the garage – he has focused ALL OUR EYES on it as well. With MILLIONS of pairs of eyes looking closely at every team call from now to the end of the season, Christain Horner/Seb’s side will find it difficult to get away with anything.
I have not read much comment about something that Mark said in an interview with James Allan… He suggested that not only did Seb get the wing – he took just about ALL of Marks car set up as well.
One can assume that the bit Seb didnt use was related to the front wing….cause Marks was different to his
If Vetel wins the WC in cars running on Webbers setups more times than not – and with everything the team can do to support/advantage him…and NOT the other driver…………….who is the real world champion?
I have said it before – i will say it again… Renault 2011
Contracts are nothing if you have the money to buy out of them… and Mark is openly talking about Flavio again in the press……he might float mark a loan to get out!
Kimi at RBR???
Right – i am off to buy my daily energy drink…. and for the 1st time this year it WONT be a $6 can of Red Bull
It’s very nice to have drivers speaking their minds, instead of the usual talking points like, “…the package was good today… blah, blah, blah.”
Quote: I say probably because that’s exactly what Lewis did against Kimi at Spa, and still got punished.
Lewis got a punishment for gaining an advantage enough to pass Kimi in the next corner. Hence the penalty. All Alonso needed to do was to let Kubica pass and then not re-pass him in the next corner. No penalty had he done so. It’s hard to believe that Ferrari/Alonso did not see that penalty was coming unless Alonso gave up the position he gained by cutting a corner. Major mistake.
At least this time Alonso was clever enough not to comment in public post race…
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli – The Prince?
Saw an interesting piece of information on top speeds.
S. Vettel -> 300.9 km/h
M. Webber -> 294.1 km/h
No wonder Adrian Newey was so keen to see the front wing used in the race. By my calculations, that’s a fairly big chunk of the same top speed advantage that the F-duct is supposed to bring.
No wonder RBR were keen for Vettel to have it, and Mark was so pissed…
To add to that. Vettel had the highest top speed of all drivers, Mark only 12th fastest. And using Marks’ setup…
Cort – had Alonso given the place back (as he knew he had to) immediately then, unless he suffered the same unfortunate fate as Lewis at some years ago at Spa, that would have been the end of the matter.
Fernando appears to have a very big chink in his armour at the present time (shared with his team it seems) in the form of not being able to keep his emotions under control – although perhaps Mark Webber suffers a similar problem – but it certainly sorted out Seb yesterday!
I echo the comments that if the situation continues surely one of them will have to go next season and since Mateschitz is the banker it doesn’t seem Mark will ultimately win and – as others have said – it is difficult to see where he could go unless he was ‘swapped’ with a top team – Mark at Ferrari with Alonso seems like a good idea (not)
Horner is under great pressure from the Red Bull bosses who invested heavily in Vettel. Can’t be an easy position to be in…
If Webber walks in 2011, does that make a seat in a top team available for one Kimi Raikkonen…
I heard on a podcast (Chequered Flag I think) Webber saying the Flavio had phoned him before the race to give advice.
You’re thoughts Joe?
Well done Mark. Great drive and great response.
Can’t believe Horner’s ability to stir a potential hornet’s nest needlessly. And why was Newey able to dictate the wing should be raced in the first place?
Too many chiefs and not enough indians methinks!
So McLaren win both championships while Red Bull self immolate… Schade!
We do NOT serve Red Bull anymore.
It was great to see Webber defend his position and it showed that Vettel still has some growing up to do. Vettel’s move indicated that he knew he had no chance to catch Mark and had to make the pass at the start if he was to have any chance. Vettel’s questionable on track moves have put him behind the eight ball for the championship and have hurt Red Bull’s constructor points total too!
Horner said the word came from on high that Vettel be given the new wing. This clearly shows that the team is hanging their future on Seb. Really no issue with that, but this season both drivers should be on equal footing until one is mathematically out.
Sebastian should chill a bit and grow up.
Webber is one of those increasingly rare individuals who has the courage to correct a wrong – no matter what the repercussions. Where would he go if there was a parting from Red Bull? Home if there was no other reasonable option. Indeed, increasingly rare!
Horner is such a pathetic liar – that is, he doesn’t lie at all well – that perhaps he should garner the courage to tell the truth. Indeed, that takes a Webber personality – which Horner doesn’t possess!
Mateschitz should stick to something he knows – like producing snake-oil and convincing a gullible public to consume it in great quantity – instead of interfering. Oh yes, he should also think seriously about shedding himself of Helmut Marko, for it’s oft-times best to address the cause of a problem, rather than the effect.
Joe, is Flavio Briatore still Mark Webber´s manager? I recall that he was one of the drivers that kept his contracts alive, along with Piquet. And why am I feeling ominous after seeing a picture of Ecclestone and Mateshitz together and Bernie constantly declaring that he tips Vettel fot this year´s WDC. Think he has inside information and wants to look good, kind of a geriatric version of Paul the Soccer Octopus. Finally, can you give me your vieuw on the conditions that Sebastien Bourdais had to cope with during his time with RBR as Vettels teampartner. I recall Bourdais claiming that Horner sacked him through a sms-text message. Regards.
What, no comments from Helmut Marko how Mark Webber ruined Vettel’s race? Is Helmut hiding somewhere?
Something worries me about this Princess Petal,, Britney, etc business.
When I were a lad, racing drivers were heroes, supermen who – even if they were cads & bounders for the rest of the time – squared up to mortal danger & each other on a fortnightly basis for the glory of the sport.
Nowadays we’re ridiculing them like they’re Premiership footballers. My recollection is undoubtedly rose-tinted but we certainly never used to mock them.
… and what worries me is that I find myself thinking that some of them deserve it.
Not good. Not good at all.
@Ash…a wonderfull description of the nude models congratulatory remarks.
@Colin..SSM is speaking from experience, he regularily beat the works cars whilst running in privateer cars, especially Rob Walkers cars.
@ Cobbs..Vettel will not be booed at the Oz GP next year as I doubt he will make it to the circuit. There will be 20000 at the airport to give him a GREAT Aussie welcome,fingers at the ready and if he survives that on the run from airport to city there will be at least 1000 truckies only to willing to show him how to REALLY force a car into the concrete barriers. I hope some smart entrepreneur is making 100000 giant fingers for the fans at Albert Park!!
@Aussie Carl..Kimi at RBR! Strewth, SV and CH cant handle a” tail end charlie” like MW, how the hell will they cope with a legend like KR.
@Barry Wolf..yeah, under a rock as usual.
Every time Horner opens his mouth he just seems to dig himself into a deeper hole and eventually its going to collapse and bury him. What are David Richards and Paul Stoddard doing these days.??
If MW and RBR split at end of year, there are 11 teams who would take him ….especially if they could put a number1 on one of their cars!! Apart from Renault and Williams there is Force India but I suspect Mallya and Mateshitz are one of a kind.
I think Webber is doing a great job this season. I thought the timing of his number 2 comment was perfect. He didn’t claim to be number two at any point on Saturday. Clearly on Saturday night he had a meeting with his management to discuss tactics and set up a meeting with Red Bull to discuss his situation. Then when he won the race he made the number 2 comment. The timing was perfect because he did it from a position of strength and he did it at a time that he knew it would be broadcast to the whole world at the same time so there was no way Red Bull could get their damage control out before Webber’s own comment was broadcast or reported.
I can’t fathom why people think Alonso should only get a 5 second penalty. He knew he had illegally passed Kubica so should have given the position back just as Hamilton did at Spa in 2008. You cannot assume if Alonso had given the postion back or had not made the illegal pass that he would have got straight past Kubica. He could have been stuck behind him for a few laps. The penalty for the offence is known to everyone. Ferrari and Alonso decided to take a chance that he could gain enough time before the penalty was issued to negate it and lost. That is tough luck but the correct penalty was applied. Do people really want drivers to pass off the track and gain from it?
@W154
Put me down for 2 of those fingers at Albert Park – one for each hand
As for SV making it from Melb Airport to the track – if the Trucks dont get him – the Coppers will – and i think the only airline he would be assured of a safe seat with a working lifevest would be Lauda Air – surprise
My guess is he & CH wont be sitting in the exit row of any Qantas flights anytime soon.
I read an interesting comment the other day by someone that suggested the only two places Mark could go would be Renault or Force India.
Renault would be a nice option and no doubt Flavio would still have some swing there… Yet the Force India drive might not be all that bad. In my opinion Force India are in a place RBR had a couple seasons back, could they be the next big thing?
Mark would give Force India the experience they seem to be lacking, a Webber and Sutil partnership would also be very strong in my opinion, however ironic that he’d be leaving a German teammate for another German..
thoughts on this?