31 May 2010

Canberra Region's Mark Webber crashed into third in Istanbul

| johnboy
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The Roar are picking over the remains of the Turkish Grand Prix which saw our (sorry Quangers) Mark Webber collide with his own team mate Sebastian Vettel when the two of them were coming first and second.

Webber recovered to finish third in the race and keep his place at the top of the driver’s championship.

So sports fans; who was to blame? Footage of the crash above for those who missed it.

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Holden Caulfield said :

Flav was Mark’s manager until the FIA banned Briatore from holding such positions. IIRC Mark now manages himself.

I was under the impression that Flavio was once again Mark’s manager. When the French court overturned the FIA decision to ban Flavio he was once again elligible to be involved in F1 (and was given 15,000 EUR compensation!) however he said that he would not be involved with a team for another few years (2012 season I think). However, I read that his managerial work (Webber and Kovalainen) was allowed.

Holden Caulfield4:51 pm 01 Jun 10

And if you read/believe the James Allen blog then you’ll see he has reported that win in Vettel’s backyard didn’t go down too well with some in the RBR team.

Thoroughly Smashed3:26 pm 01 Jun 10

Webber was given a drive through last year the German GP for less than that.

Holden Caulfield1:09 pm 01 Jun 10

I knew the Fezza rumours were around, but I haven’t heard the ones saying he has already signed. An Aussie in a Ferrari would be just about the only thing that would undo all the disdain Schumacher made me feel towards the Maranello team, haha.

The possibility of Webber leaving Red Bull opens up the nice irony of him being replaced by an Australian with current RBR reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the, erm, wings.

There are rumours about that he has already signed a 2 year deal with ferrari, hence the desire for Seb to win the WDC

We’ll see what happens though

Holden Caulfield10:53 am 01 Jun 10

Felix the Cat said :

I believe he has already re-signed with RBR.

Webber’s contract with RBR expires at the end of this season. He is free to do what he likes in 2011. Not sure what control (if any) Renault still have over him after the Flavio Briatore dramas of last year.

Flav was Mark’s manager until the FIA banned Briatore from holding such positions. IIRC Mark now manages himself.

Prior to the Turkey fiasco it was expected Webber and RBR would start negotiations in the next month or so. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens there. But RBR have unwittingly and tellingly shown their hand by so openly stating Webber was at fault.

The vast majority of those in the F1 industry seem to disagree with the opinion of RBR management. If I was Mark Webber and I wanted to race next season I think I’d be more inclined to listen to other offers than I would have been a few days ago.

FWIW, Vettel is contracted with RBR until the end of 2011.

By the look on Vettels face durring the (an) interview he either looks guilty, and/or had the crap blasted outa him by Team Management, regardless, sport is sport!

Felix the Cat said :

I believe he has already re-signed with RBR.

I don’t think he has – the other day Horner said that he’d be happy to re-sign Webber, but I’m pretty sure that they haven’t actually signed anything yet. And the impression that I got from one of the BBC articles was that Mark still had a few weeks worth of contemplating… And with Flavio as his manager you can bet they’ll be talking to other teams in the meantime.

I wonder if Ferrari will be quick to re-sign Massa like they were implying before the race.

Felix the Cat8:22 pm 31 May 10

Gungahlin Al said :

Guessing that will ensure Mark starts listening to overtures from other teams for next year…

How would it be to have an Aussie driving for Ferrari I wonder?

I believe he has already re-signed with RBR.

Vettel is a complete moron, still making the same rookie mistakes as he was 2 or so years ago. It was up to vettel to make sure he had enough room to pass, webber clearly holds his line which automatically means vettel tried to fit into a gap that didn’t exist. Vettel should be taken out the back and beaten.

Gungahlin Al4:30 pm 31 May 10

Schumacher made a career out of smashing out anyone he couldn’t beat. Seems Vettel is the heir apparent.

This You Tube clip is titled “Vettel refuses to blame Webber” – fer real?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpEI8f1XRV0

Amazed that the RBR boss has come down on Vettel’s side: http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1061676

Guessing that will ensure Mark starts listening to overtures from other teams for next year…

How would it be to have an Aussie driving for Ferrari I wonder?

It’s been interesting to watch the RBR team dynamics unfold as Mark takes pole after pole and wins with them. He has out-driven (and out-set up and out-engineered) Vettel, who is displaying the response you’d expect from a typical 13 year old (which he is). Mark has cracked — not shattered — Vettel psychologically, in my view, and Seb has to assert himself back into the frame.

You need to remember, too, that Vettel started Turkey with a new chassis after it was discovered that his old one had sustained minor damage in the earlier events. So, he benefited from running in the fully updated thing, while Mark had to use his ‘ole faithful. No excuses lefty for young Sebby in those circumstances. Curiously, too, there are reports circulating (attributed to Mark) claiming that he had been told to ‘wind back’ the engine a bit (which they have the capacity to do . . . just switch to a different engine ‘map’) just before the incident.

By the look of the “I’m a twit” hand gesture Vettel makes twice in that video I’d say he knows what he did. What’s weird is how quickly he came up on Webber – what’s the go there?!?

Most impressive thing about this was Webber’s after race interview – thought he kept his cool very well, would love to have been a fly on the wall when they say down with each other later 🙂

Vettel – what a knob.
Although it was good that Webber still finished and Vettel didn’t.
Vettel needs to turn down his massive ego just a tad.

Gungahlin Al11:44 am 31 May 10

Vettel is either malicious or a moron.
He is certainly not a team player.
A hex on Vettel’s car for the rest of the season.

The first person you have to beat is your teammate……….Webber should now go and beat Vettel, and I do mean beat him (out the back of the pits) after that insane move, passing on the outside, at that speed and no line to the corner from where he was, dumb.

Holden Caulfield11:36 am 31 May 10

The golden rule of motorsport is never crash with your teammate. On that basis, both drivers are to blame.

Take a step back and imagine Webber was driving for Ferrari, for example, then there would be no question it was Vettel’s fault.

Webber held his line at all stages during Vettel’s overtaking move. He did no swerve to portect his lead. And he did not turn in on the approach to the left hand corner. Vettel didn’t hold his line and contact followed.

Pretty simple really.

It seems like Webber could have avoided it if he’d “played it safe” and given his team-mate more space (which is the only argument I’ve heard to make it Webber’s “fault”), but ultimately Vettel turned into Webber who was simply holding position. That puts Vettel at fault.

Scott in QLD10:56 am 31 May 10

Vettel had a brain fade…. or was it an ambition/ability mismatch? Best thing to come out of it all is that Webbers main championship rival is now in 5th place and he has not only retained the lead but built a gap. The whole world agrees Vettel was at fault… except RBR and Vettel. Wow, what a surprise.

georgesgenitals10:44 am 31 May 10

Bugger. And by that I mean bugger Vettel – what was he thinking?

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