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Mark Webber of Australia and Red Bull Racing in parc ferme at the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix at Istanbul Park on May 29, 2010, in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images.
What we witnessed on lap 40 in last night’s Turkish Grand Prix when Mark Webber and Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel controversially collided was a season defining moment that suddenly sets up an intense intra-team battle between the pair.
The incident was a highly contentious one with both drivers differing in their opinion on who was to blame.
Pundits and fans were quick to lay the blame squarely on Vettel.
The German had moved on the inside of the Aussie and was slightly ahead of him before he darted to the right and collected Webber, with Vettel out on the spot and Webber able to continue and score a crucial third place.
Vettel was gesticulating to Webber while still spinning out of the race, and his gestures outside the car and snub to the media in the paddock hinted at his displeasure and anger toward his teammate.
Vettel eventually told the press: “Obviously, I think if you look at the pictures it was clear I had the inside. I went on the inside, I was ahead and just going down to focus on the braking point and honestly, you can see we touched and he touched my right rear wheel and I went off.”
In comparison, Webber was extremely coy in the post-race press conference, obviously disappointed but hinting that Vettel had moved across on him.
Later in the paddock he told journos it was “a f@#king disaster”.
Vettel may retract his comments when watching the replay, but Webber wasn’t totally innocent.
He aggressively tried to block Vettel initially, even when the German was alongside, and he could well have given Vettel racing room (Vettel was ahead) by moving wide, setting himself up for the next corner.
Webber has history here. His aggression in defending his line and swerving to block his rivals has been a point of contention in the past, and his ability to win out in head-to-head battles is questionable. But it was Vettel’s move across that was the fatal one that caused the contact.
It was overly aggressive from the pair as teammates (especially when compared to how the McLaren pair managed to avoid hitting each other at the same corner), but you sense it was a season defining moment for both and neither wanted to give the other the inch needed to win out.
When you consider how drastically the pendulum has swung between the pair from the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Vettel easily out psyched Webber into turn one, and Turkey up until that point with Webber on the brink of a hat-trick of wins, more was at stake than just the race win.
The psychological battle may have been intensifying of late with Vettel trying to respond to Webber’s phenomenal run of form – something that has surprised even ardent Webber fans – but the rivalry now has its clear marker.
How Vettel responds in Montreal and beyond will be fascinating.
He has been built up as the ‘next Michael Schumacher’ and few expected him to be on the back foot in the Red Bull camp. Unlucky with reliability at the start of the season (he should really be in a commanding championship position), he has been easily outpaced by Webber of late – a driver who many thought was a journeyman on his way out of F1.
The team also faces an enormous challenge to contain the rising tensions and respect the opinions of both drivers.
Already the mood seems anything but united. Key team personnel were defending Vettel over Webber following the race, with Red Bull’s motorsport consultant, Dr Helmut Marko, telling the official F1 website: “Well, in the situation Sebastian was in, he had no other choice than to act the way he did.”
Harsh on Webber but it’s not surprising of them to defend Vettel.
The fascinating dynamic within the team makes it an even more intriguing battle.
While it is English based with Webber having raced for them in their previous guise as Jaguar Racing, the Austrian-Germanic influence of Red Bull undoubtedly favour Vettel.
Already conspiracy theories abound about the team asking Webber to conserve tyres and slow, hoping it would allow Vettel to pass, etc, etc, but they have been denied by the team.
Remember, Red Bull is a young team in uncharted waters; trying to capitalise on their undoubted car advantage while containing the intra-team rivalry with the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button looming in the background.
And with Webber in uncharted waters as a championship leader in battle against reigning champion Button and Hamilton, the pressure is very much on Red Bull.
While he was undoubtedly disappointed at losing the race, Webber at least leaves Turkey with a five-point championship lead over Button with Vettel in fifth, 15 points back.
If Webber has rattled Vettel’s cage, he must carry on his pace advantage over the German and get the better of him on the days when Red Bull is in a race winning position, particularly if the team is going to favour Vettel.
But the threat from McLaren is real and consistency and points collection is critical.
Let’s not forget that Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault are still in a position to pinch points and podiums for the remainder of the season, making the battle between the Red Bull and McLaren quartet in the championship standings delicately poised.
They are four quality drivers in quality cars and the championship could go to any one of the four.
Webber must eliminate the mistakes from his driving, while Red Bull mustn’t self-destruct if they’re to have any hope of stopping the McLaren pair. And Webber must do so with battlelines drawn within his own team and a fired up teammate out to get revenge.
Hardcore F1 fans and Aussie bandwagon supporters alike are in for an epic battle for the remainder of the 2010 season, with Webber very much in the thick of it.