Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has voiced frustration at the “age” it took marshals to get to Mark Webber’s blazing car at the Korean Formula One Grand Prix.
Australian veteran Webber’s turbulent weekend ended with his Red Bull going up in flames on Sunday after he was bumped off the track by the Force India of Adrian Sutil.
The Australian Webber, who had earlier suffered a puncture when the tyre of McLaren’s Sergio Perez exploded, climbed free from the burning RB9 and was left staring at the car as flames quickly swallowed it up.
“It was a great shame to lose Mark, who would have been on the podium today, after he picked up a puncture from the debris from the Perez incident,” said Horner.
“Then after that he was the innocent victim of the incident that saw Sutil losing his car and hitting him, which caused a fire.
“It was somewhat frustrating to see our car on fire for what seemed to be an age.”
Webber, who is in his final year in Formula One and a crowd favourite in Korea, was unharmed, hitching a lift back to the paddock on a motorbike to be greeted by a throng of photographers.
Webber told reporters he believed it was his KERS – a device which boosts the acceleration of the car – that caught fire initially.
“I don’t know what happened, but obviously he (Sutil) hit me from the inside and that was that,” he said.
“There was quite a lot of damage at the back of the car and I hope it hasn’t gone towards the chassis – we will have to see before the next race.”
Webber, who qualified third but started a lowly 13th on the grid because of a penalty from the previous race in Singapore, added: “Before that, I was very happy with how I drove and we’d got back to a very good position before I got the puncture.”
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
The Australian finished second but had to work for it, as he fought off food poisoning, a race day engine change, and his own overheating body.
Nico Hulkenberg's move to a German team will hopefully bring back some of the German flare Formula 1 had just seven years ago.
Given how exclusive and precious a commodity scoring an F1 point is, why is it that mediocrity should be rewarded?
Team Penske is under the same umbrella of ownership as the IndyCar Series itself, so it was imperative for to drop the hammer and protect their integrity—which, thankfully, they did.
Red Bull can’t rest on its laurels and if Perez can’t provide them with cover on the rare days that Verstappen is having trouble, it's time to look elsewhere.
The absolute vitriol against the Canadian that has come from the incident is beyond reprehensible.
