Formula One pacesetters McLaren claim Red Bull is infatuated with erratic young star Sebastian Vettel and will never back Mark Webber over the young German.
This is despite the fact Webber is Red Bull’s main hope for the drivers’ championship following his second place at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Webber has won four races this season, more than any other driver, and trails series leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren by just three points.
The Australian is also a considerable 28 points ahead of Vettel.
The 23-year-old was favoured with an updated front wing removed from Webber’s car before last month’s British Grand Prix but the plan backfired when Webber went on to win the race.
Vettel has been hit by a wave of criticism after taking out world champion Jenson Button in what looked like a reckless passing move in Sunday’s race at Spa.
He has been widely described as impetuous and immature and Webber says the team must shortly decide who they will support for the drivers’ title.
According to McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, Vettel is a “crash kid.”
“It was not what you would expect to see in Formula One. It was more reminiscent of junior formulae,” Whitmarsh said, while naming Webber as McLaren’s main opponent.
“He is mathematically the closest, he is a strong driver and he is driving well, so he has got to be the main opposition.
“I think they quite like their younger driver, so I doubt they will put their weight behind Mark.”
Former McLaren team principal Ron Dennis described Vettel as “just too impetuous.”
“Look at the incident with his own team-mate (when Vettel crashed into Webber in Turkey), look at incidents that put him out of the race.
“It’s good to push, it’s good to be competitive, but there are so many historical lines in motorsport and the one that fits him more than anything is, ‘To finish first, first you have to finish,'” Dennis said.
Button has said that the mistake that eliminated him on Sunday was typical of Vettel’s season, and suggested that the German was going to miss out on the world title as a result of his errors.
“I don’t think they will (focus on Webber),” Button said.
“I think they love Vettel, and I don’t think they will put all their eggs in one basket.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says his organisation will not back one driver, claiming it is too early with six races remaining.
However, Webber says the team must make a decision soon.
Horner has strongly defended Vettel, claiming Spa was “one of those races where it just did not go his way.”
“He is a great racing driver, he is still a very young guy and it is easy to be very critical on somebody who is relatively inexperienced – but for sure he will learn a lot from what happened,” Horner said.
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