Red Bull will leave any decision on team orders up to its drivers at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, convinced both will do "what’s right for the team".
Links
Red Bull will not issue driver orders (Autosport)
"Red Bull Racing will leave any decision on team orders wholly up to its drivers in the Abu Dhabi season finale, with the management convinced Sebastian Vettel will do the right thing off his own back if needed.
"When asked if he was sure Vettel would do the right thing if required, Horner said: ‘Ultimately it is their decision. They both drive for the team and I know that they will both do the best that they can in that situation, should it arise, for the team.’
"Vettel will win the championship if he wins the race in Abu Dhabi and Alonso fails to finish fourth or higher, while Webber will be champion if he wins and Alonso is no higher than third."
Schumacher let Rosberg through (Autosport)
"Michael Schumacher let team-mate Nico Rosberg through during the Brazilian Grand Prix as he felt he stood a better chance of overtaking with Jenson Button.
"Rosberg, who eventually finished sixth, was on fresher tyres than Schumacher having made an additional pitstop during the late safety car period.
"’I let Nico past when he was on fresh tyres as he had the better chance to fight Jenson in front of us,’ explained Schumacher, who finished seventh."
Mark Webber coy over Red Bull future (BBC F1)
"Red Bull driver Mark Webber has stopped short of confirming he will stay with the team next year in the wake of rumours that he could quit."
Lotus, Renault and some changes afoot (James Allen on F1)
"Lotus finally confirmed the news that we’ve expected for ages, that they will use Renault engines for the next two seasons. We already knew that they would be using Red Bull gearboxes and hydraulics. It marks a significant step forward for the team. It was also announced that Red Bull has renewed its deal with Renault for two more years. The team will run KERS next year, Christian Horner has confirmed.
"Less clear is what happens next with the name of the team and with the arrival of Group Lotus, the car company, into F1 in partnership with the current Renault team."
Jenson Button could have been targeted by gang, says father (The Telegraph)
"Jenson Button may have been a deliberate target for the armed gang which threatened the Formula One champion, his father fears."
Comment of the day
There’s a few complaints today about the safety car and the scrapping of the rule which allowed back markers to unlap themselves when under safety car conditions.
Feynman disagrees, saying:
The leaders had to navigate past those lapped cars, that’s how they got lapped, why should cars racing the leaders not have to do the same? Fairs fair. No?
Yeah, you could argue it would make for a more exciting show, but then so would phantom full-course yellows for "debris", but just cos it makes better TV, doesn’t mean it should be applied to a sporting contest.
The chasers get enough of an advantage closing up behind the SC, lets leave the lapped traffic where it is, I think.
Feynman
From the forum
Kingp asks, has Nico Hulkenberg’s pole position saved him for 2011?
Happy birthday!
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On this day in F1
On this day in 2007, Renault was summoned to an FIA hearing to answer charges that it illegally obtained McLaren intellectual property.
The case surrounded engineer Phil Mackereth, who joined Renault from McLaren in September 2006 – taking with him information belonging to McLaren on 11 floppy disks. The information contained details of McLaren’s fuelling system, oil cooling system and an innovative suspension component used in the 2006 and 2007 McLarens.
The information was viewed by nine members of Renault’s staff. Following an internal investigation, the team suspended Mackereth and returned the floppy disks to McLaren.
Renault appeared before the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on December 6th and were found guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute. But the FIA did not punish them, despite having excluded McLaren from the 2007 constructors’ championship for obtaining information about Ferrari.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th November 2010, 0:06
Good job by Horner leaving the decision up to their drivers, meaning they’ll surely loose the drivers champ.
Dave
8th November 2010, 0:11
lol, that was my first thought. but i have some faith vettel will do the job for webber.
Daniel
8th November 2010, 0:12
Please don’t feel I’m picking on you, but I see this mistake so often that it’s driving me crazy.
loose: the opposite of tight
lose: the opposite of win
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th November 2010, 0:59
oh… how embarrasing! I always write “loose”.
Thanks! (of course i don’t feel you’re picking on me… it’s completely the opposite, you’re helping me :))
BasCB
8th November 2010, 8:11
Well, Webbers grip on the WDC is more loosened than it might have been.
Nick
8th November 2010, 1:58
But what choice has he got ? Team orders are illegal, AFAIK.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th November 2010, 2:30
they might be illegal, but he’ll loose because of them. So it’s isn’t really “illgal”.
Mike
8th November 2010, 5:33
It is illegal, check the rules…
Ferrari just managed to get away with breaking the rules.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
8th November 2010, 6:14
It’s a $100,000 fee each time an order is used. Precedent has been set.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
8th November 2010, 8:06
Some of us thought the precedent had been set after Hockenheim, Silverstone and China 2008: i.e. that team orders could be used without penalty.
Which tells you all you need to know about precedents.
Lustigson
8th November 2010, 11:11
Three facts:
1. Team orders are illegal, according to the rules.
2. Ferrari did NOT get away with breaking them in Germany, since they paid a $100,000 fine.
3. (One) Precedence is Brazil 2007, where F. Massa let K.M. Räikkönen past for the win plus the WDC.
I’d be surprised if Red Bull were fined if Vettel were to let Webber take victory in Abu Dhabi, in order to secure the WDC.
Whether the German will actually do so, is another matter, of course: I for one expect him to do so, indeed, when push comes to shove.
David BR
8th November 2010, 11:47
Question is: if Vettel lets Webber past to clinch the title, will Ferrari contest the outcome of the race and championship with FIA (demand a points reduction or removal for Webber)?
Place your bets now.
David BR
8th November 2010, 11:48
btw, I think that’s why Horner was quick to say any such maneouvre will be ‘purely a driver decision.’ Trust Ferrari to not be hypocritical? lol
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th November 2010, 16:00
it’s illegal but a precedent has been set.
So it’s illegal on paper, but not illegal on practice.
Sat
8th November 2010, 6:29
I am sure If it was Vettel leading by now Webber would have been playing second fiddle.
Why worry when Red Bull so called “Team” is also giving their 100% to ensure that Alonso wins the WDC. Alonso has the backing of both ferrari and Red Bull to win his 3rd title.
Omar Roncal
8th November 2010, 0:16
That would be a shame, losing the driver’s championship, but I don’t think it’s on Vettel’s hands to let Webber be champion, but on an unexpected ally’s (probably Lewis) who should be 3rd to help Webber (if he manages to lead the final race)
Daniel
8th November 2010, 0:22
If Webber is leading it doesn’t matter who is 3rd, so long as Alonso is not 2nd.
Daniel
8th November 2010, 11:38
Actually just to correct that, Webber will still win if Alonso finishes second, IF that second place finish is a dead-heat, because then the points for 2nd and 3rd would be added together and divided by 2: 18 + 15 = 33 /2 = 16.5 compared to 25 for the win is a gap of 8.5, and Webber is 8 points behind!!!
Daniel
8th November 2010, 12:01
This has just become my prediction for the race. Vettel will try and give the race to Webber on the last corner, with Alonso close behind. He will misjudge it, they will drag to the line. It will be a dead-heat. No one will know what that means, there will be total confusion at the track and in TV studios. At home I will be applauding Webber’s 1/2 point WDC win.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
8th November 2010, 6:19
It would be interesting if Hamilton, Button, Kubica, Rosberg or someone else were in the mix to decide the podium. I wonder who their allegiances lie with.
Daniel
8th November 2010, 0:17
I agree with Feynman. I wish they could go further, not just maintaining the positions of cars, but also the gaps.
There are two ways to do that:
1) Full course speed limit instead of a safety car.
2) The race is stopped, and then the cars restarted from the pit lane in the same order they were in on track prior to the stoppage. In this situation each car moves to the line at the end of the pit lane, and waits for their number to flash on a board before going. The timing of the numbers flashing is dependant on the gaps before the stoppage.
The SC is the most ridiculous thing ever from a sporting context. Imagine if they artificially bunched the competitors in a 3000 m foot race!
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
8th November 2010, 0:24
For sho’, that would be detrimental to ‘The Show’
Daniel
8th November 2010, 0:30
Yep, but I feel if people want a show they should watch West Side Story. If you want a technological sport watch F1 (or Le Mans cars).
Nick
8th November 2010, 1:55
Or if you want both, MotoGP.
PT
8th November 2010, 5:58
Spot on Nick, MotoGP has succeeded in clubbing the two, though I’d wish it would do something to create invincible injury-proof suits for its riders (wishful thinking, I know).
Maciek
8th November 2010, 8:23
I couldn’t disagree more – I see nothing wrong with safety car situations being an unpredictable element that in a sense resets the race. Rolling starts are a missing element from F1 and it shows since pretty much no one ever puts a pass on anyone when the safety car comes in. And although I would send backmarkers to the back behind the safety car, I would get rid of blue flags in race conditions so they actually have to be passed to be lapped – thus favouring better passers, which, if I were to choose, I would call the single most important racing skill.
Icthyes
8th November 2010, 8:44
Agree. I also disagree with the COTD. The leaders who had already lapped those cars could did so when there were reasonable gaps between them, not when they were literally bunched up.
Cars about to be lapped are told to get out of the way by blue flags. Under the SC, they were in the way for the restart and under that logic should have been sent to the back. If we’re going to have blue flags, at least the rules should be consistent.
Jay
8th November 2010, 9:41
Completely agree with this Icthyes. Immediately upon the restart, should the backmarkers not have yielded position? From memory, it took more than a few laps for Mark and Nando to clear them.
Klon
8th November 2010, 0:20
– The F1 Talk Show
“We are back with the results of the lie detector test … and Christian Horner, we asked you if you were to issue team orders and you said no. The lie detector determined that was a lie! That’s it for today, folks, turn in next time with the topic: Massa’s pregnant – who’s the father?”
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
8th November 2010, 0:22
This is what I think could happen in Abu Dhabi: Vettel is leading with Webber second. Vettel slows down to let his team mate through but completely botches the move, causing the two Red Bulls to collide.
FAs usual, Fernando Alonso ignores the yellow flags for the incident and flies into the wreckage. Thus, 4th placed Lewis Hamilton inherits the race win and with it the title. Preferably with Kamui Kobayashi the runner up!
Omar Roncal
8th November 2010, 0:26
hahhaha, very funny! yeah and sorry for my last comment, I didn’t calculate the points
VXR
8th November 2010, 1:41
If you could also give me the correct winning numbers for next Saturdays lottery draw, I would be very grateful. :)
Anyone who doesn’t think that Vettel will not move over to give Webber the title, if necessary, is sadly deluding themselves.
Maybe he would also attempt a ‘Hamilton’ type lunge down the inside of Alonso to get the same result?
Jarred Walmsley
8th November 2010, 2:31
I’m not a big Vettel fan but i’m fairly certain that he would rather Mark won than Alonso, and anyway if he did let Mark through he could stay right on Mark’s tail incase Alonso’s engine blows.
If Alonso’s engine does blow what position would Mark need to be in to allow Vettel the title if Vettel won?
Red Andy (@red-andy)
8th November 2010, 8:08
There are a magical seven points between Vettel and Webber…so if Alonso is out of it, Vettel just has to win and he is world champion. (If Vettel and Webber finished 1-2 with Alonso not scoring, they would have the same points but Vettel would win the title as he’s won more races).
Glenn
8th November 2010, 4:16
What about Alonso running say 6th for whatever reason. So the Redbulls fight to the end taking each other out on the last lap and Alonso then wins WDC.
PT
8th November 2010, 6:05
Ned, I’ll go a bit further with this.
Kobayashi is at his aggressive best. Hamilton isn’t able to get away from Kobayashi who even fancies a win. Hamilton won’t give it to him, Kamui keeps hassling and they touch! Hamilton ends up with broken suspension, and Alonso still gets to be world champion!
Baracca
8th November 2010, 10:47
… and then Kamui who is on fresh tyres overtakes Lewis who goes wide in the very last turn while whinning on the team radio about having no grip.
PT
8th November 2010, 12:26
that’s an extreme possibility too
PT
8th November 2010, 12:28
Wierd that we’re assuming Kobayashi to determine the fate of the title, but if he does something like that will be on Ferrari’s wish list?
Chippie
8th November 2010, 11:43
The more I think about that, the more plausible it seems. Think about an Alonso, Webber, Vettel crash int he first corner, with Hamilton cruising to victory thanks to Button holding everyone else up.
David BR
8th November 2010, 11:55
It would be an extremely weird race: Hamilton chased by Massa (and maybe Kubica, Rosberg etc.) and having to pass the Toro Rosso’s very carefully. Remembering last time at Abu Dhabi Lewis had a brake failure…
Ads21
8th November 2010, 14:37
A more plausable scenario would surely be Vettel leading Webber with Alonso third. Alonso’s engine blows leaving a straight duel between the Red Bull drivers. Vettel and Webber colide taking both out on the spot and Hamilton takes the championship.
That sounds so plausable I might put a £5 on Hamilton to win the title considering he’s at 100-1
Jess
8th November 2010, 0:28
Well if they loose then atleast it was a fair fight. I cant get behind a team that (big red) in what ever way will manipulate the outcome.
Ben Curly
8th November 2010, 10:23
“Vettel will win the championship if he wins the race in Abu Dhabi and Alonso fails to finish fourth or higher, while Webber will be champion if he wins and Alonso is no higher than third.”
Let me rephrase that:
“Webber will win the championship if he wins the race in Abu Dhabi and Alonso fails to finish second, while Vettel will be champion if he wins and Alonso is no higher than fifth.”
Souds a little bit different, doesn’t it? More honest, I’d say, although seemingly both sentences convey the same thing…
Omar Roncal
8th November 2010, 15:31
Big Red big manipulators… and yes if for some weird thing Alonso blows, Hamilton could be champion (I’m not his fan but)having Red Bulls wrangling and crashing each other
TommyC
8th November 2010, 0:36
“taking with him information belonging to McLaren on 11 floppy disks”
Haha, he probably thought investigators wouldn’t bother looking. Floppy disks…how could he even store any useful info on that? i suppose 11 might work though…
BBT
8th November 2010, 7:12
This years cars design only fits on 6 floppy discs (last years on 4, they didn’t have enough after some went missing)… no wonder they have fell away the 2nd half of the season. ;-)
Red Andy (@red-andy)
8th November 2010, 8:12
Don’t forget that according to some people, this is exactly the same offence as having an on-demand flow of stolen information from a rival team, courtesy of a mole.
The fact Renault’s punishment was perfectly consistent with the first WMSC judgement in the McLaren case (no punishment, because though information was taken it wasn’t shown that it had been used) generally has to be ignored for these logical gymnastics to work.
Icthyes
8th November 2010, 8:46
McLaren’s punishment at the second hearing wasn’t because they had a mole, it was because the FIA found out major employees – Dennis, Alonso, de la Rosa, etc. – were using the information.
Icthyes
8th November 2010, 8:52
I wish it were possible to have that edit button instead of double posting! Anyway.
It was plainly obvious that the Spygate sentence was Mosley’s attempt to get rid of Ron Dennis and/or seriously weaken his power. Same with Crashgate two years later, he didn’t care about Renault, he wanted Flavio.
I’ve never had any love for McLaren, but anyone wanting to use this case to single out McLaren specifically is being rather naive. There isn’t a single top team that hasn’t committed some kind of unedifying offence or action.
bosyber
8th November 2010, 12:47
That was shocking to me too: floppies in 2006, seriously? I can only think he believed no one would think to take those serious as an attempt at an information leak.
flatbeat
8th November 2010, 0:37
I wager 1 million dollars that vettel will not pull over for mark.
VXR
8th November 2010, 1:46
Assuming that you have that sort of money in the first place I fear that you may not have it for much longer. :)
While the constructors championship is worth winning in itself, no one is fooling themselves that the drivers championship isn’t the one that brings most prestige and money to a team.
Vettel will do what is best for the team.
Regis
8th November 2010, 2:13
“the drivers championship isn’t the one that brings most prestige and money to a team”
Are you kidding? i don’t even remember who won the constructors championship in the previous years except Brawn last year.
You are mad my friend, the drivers title IS the most prestigious of them.
Hamish
8th November 2010, 2:24
Ah, how about you read his whole post again, then read yours, then see whether your one makes sense.
Me thinks no.
phil
8th November 2010, 0:41
2007 all over again. Kimi came back from the dead and won. So will Alonso. Redbull made a huge mistake lastnight. Aside from an engine failure from Alonso’s car, there is very little chance of him finishing lower then 5th next weekend. He will finish second. He will be onfire next week and redbull wont be able to do nothing to stop him. Webber will win the race, Alonso will finish second and vetell third. There is no way vetell would want to see Webber win the title so to ensure he wont he will finish third Alonso second and webber third.
In 07 Mclaren lost the title and 2010 redbull will lose the title. Crazy decision.
phil
8th November 2010, 0:41
Sorry webber first.
Younger Hamilton
8th November 2010, 0:49
Sorry Lewis First
DeadManWoking
8th November 2010, 0:56
Sorry Vettel First and WDC
Younger Hamilton
8th November 2010, 1:18
Sorry not this year
Aussie Fan
8th November 2010, 7:26
ummmmm……sorry?
lol!
DaveW
8th November 2010, 1:12
Yes, basically, RBR need now to ring up Renault and explain to them how to get bendy front wings and how to lower the car for qualifying. They need someone beside Hamilton and Button to spoil for them and the options are few.
Mark in Florida
8th November 2010, 0:47
Basically it means that Red Bull Doesn’t care one whit if Webber wins or not.Mathematically if there is any chance that Vettel could clinch the title Mateschitz wants him to finish first.Common sense and odds apparently are not a factor in the teams thinking.Ferrari is laughing all the way to the championship!Red Bull you have built a great team and a fast car but it will not last for long.Brawn GP made the most of what they had,your just throwing away opportunities at every turn.Your myopic view that Vettel has to be #1 is self destructive in the end.
Daniel
8th November 2010, 11:53
Well, that’s not entirely fair. If Webber and Alonso clash and drop down the field as a result, they will have made the right call if Vettel takes the title.
That’s not a crazy scenario. If Vettel is leading, with Webber 2nd and Alonso 3rd, Alonso will have to try and find a way to pass Webber, to be certain Vettel won’t cede the win to him on the line.
MacademiaNut
8th November 2010, 0:58
Let’s say ALO is running 6th, and VET is 1 followed by WEB. Do you think VET will still yield? It would be really cool if we were to witness another last lap like in 2008.
DeadManWoking
8th November 2010, 1:03
If Vettel is 1st and Alonso 5th or lower, Vettel wins the WDC.
MacademiaNut
8th November 2010, 1:08
okay.. make that 5th. ;)
DeadManWoking
8th November 2010, 1:11
But who will be running 4th and gift it to Alonso?
Mr. Wrong
8th November 2010, 3:47
Timo Glock, hopefully.
Steve
8th November 2010, 5:44
Yea, Timo obviously.
DeadManWoking
8th November 2010, 6:02
Better yet, it’s Massa in 4th and he refuses to let Alonso by 8)
Gill
8th November 2010, 9:11
Massa.. who Massa ? He was supposed to be ahead of Alonso to help him but he was no where. I m so happy that he was nowhere close to Alonso to help him ( He was once in Grmany and thats the only time he will be ahead of him in the near future).
Baracca
8th November 2010, 11:01
Felipe Massa would have helped Fernando Alonso to win the WDC a whole lot more if he had been scoring decent points (as a Ferrari driver should) in most races instead of giving them away to the competition, compared with the wretched 7 points at Hockenheim. And btw, if he had been scoring decently he would have never been asked to yield so early.
bosyber
8th November 2010, 12:49
Well, Hamilton has been doing that now two races in a row, hasn’t he?
Sirko
8th November 2010, 1:04
Putin prepares to replace Petrov youtube.com/watch?v=HvINFJXko7g
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
8th November 2010, 5:07
In Soviet Russia, Alonso is faster than YOU!
Steve
8th November 2010, 5:48
Puntin is IRCONMAN!
Steve
8th November 2010, 5:50
Meant to say “IRONMAN!” XD
Sirko
8th November 2010, 7:09
Well, he likes to do things like that to create an image of superman… Putin Almighty
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
8th November 2010, 2:53
“Vettel will win the championship if he wins the race in Abu Dhabi and Alonso fails to finish fourth or higher, while Webber will be champion if he wins and Alonso is no higher than third.”
That will mean that Red Bull will need to hope another driver to be in front of Alonso & that could be Hamilton we are set for a great Abu Dhabi race.
DavidS
8th November 2010, 5:20
Actually, they would all be tied if Vettel wins, Webber 2nd, and Alonso 5th, with Vettel and Alonso tied on 5 wins, 2 2nds and 3 3rd places.
Alonso needs to finish lower than 5th for Vettel to have a shot. So that’s 3 drivers between the Red Bulls and Alonso.
Unlikely.
DeadManWoking
8th November 2010, 5:29
If they are tied Vettel wins the WDC with 3 4ths to Alonso’s 2.
BasCB
8th November 2010, 8:17
Now that would be the closest fought championship off all and one for the record books.
Winning on countback by having more 4th places, I would almost go for that were it not Vettel coming first in that case.
Formel1 GP
8th November 2010, 5:50
Hm, assuming they will loose the driver championship because of that!
Hamish
8th November 2010, 6:05
Doesn’t really help Ferraris cause the Massa has never driven on Abu Dhabi
Gill
8th November 2010, 9:15
Had he driven, what effect would he have made ?? He has driven amd won in Brazil before but he couldnt do the same this time.
The time has come to show th doors to the child faced driver .
He was almost 2 secs off Alonso in Q3 and Ferrari was only 2 tenth slower than Red BUlls but he could not even pass backmarkers cleanly.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
8th November 2010, 6:33
Peter Windsor interviewed David Hunt directly about the Lotus debacle. It sounds like Fernandez has led him to believe he won’t back down and will fight this all the way in court.
http://www.theracedriver.com/2010/11/david-hunt-exclusive-on-team-lotus/
BasCB
8th November 2010, 8:50
Wow, great to hear from David Hunt, and welcome back Peter Windsor.
What Hunt proposes in the last paragraph sounds like a good solution to me, with Team Lotus racing under a licence (from Hunt) and run by Fernandez.
That would keep the Team Lotus heritage in place and would enable the Team to rebuild and get up the grid.
Group Lotus should be happy with that, as it will do miracles for their brand image almost free of charge.
If they wrestle control of the Lotus name from Fernandez and put the name on Renault F1, or whoever for that matter, I would expect it will hurt their efforts improve the Lotus Cars brand a great deal as fans will not easily buy into that.
Hamish
8th November 2010, 9:32
Yea and I don’t think they would complain if they got the services of Gascoyne.
The behaviour of Lotus Cars however is rather disrespectful of the sport when you consider the history behind a name. To have a court battle over this name when you consider these are two teams who are rather new to the sport, as is the country, its pretty damn offensive.
I hate to think of the reaction of the public if George Gillett and Tom Hicks had both claimed they have the rights to be called Liverpool and each tried to field teams under that name.
It would be so embarrassing yet how is it any different?
Calum
8th November 2010, 7:25
There is no way that any team would be as stupid as to through away any sort of Championship, so it’s safe to say so long as Vettel is leading Webber in a 1-2 then the switch will happen if it means Webber can take the title (ie Alonso in 3rd).
The manuevere WILL take place if it needs to, the team principle just won’t say that in public, and what’s to say that Mark won’t storm onto pole and claim his own victory. ;)
Jay
8th November 2010, 9:44
Form.
(Comment too short)
Sush Meerkat
8th November 2010, 8:22
Wow, F1 the pinnacle of Motorsport and innovation, using floppy disks to design cars aye?
No wonder the 2007 Renault was a bit pants, its suspension system was done on a JPEG.
BasCB
8th November 2010, 8:53
Probably more a case of finding that USB sticks, CDs and internet connections to get data out are all strictly watched and so using a bit achreaic way of getting these files out.
I still find this a very worrying sentence, they let Renault off without any punishment only months after handing McLaren a mega fine for basically doing the same.
It shows the worst things of Mosleys FIA in a nutshell.
Sush Meerkat
8th November 2010, 10:18
That’s easy, at the time Uncle Flavio and Mosley were BFF’s!.
snafuracer
8th November 2010, 9:23
What’s most likely going to happen is that Vettel will push to the very end, and if he sees the title going away, he will simply let Webber pass. Alonso, on the other hand, has to be very careful and just have to keep the pace with the Bulls, as I expect the same grid positions in Yas Marina as well.
sumedh
8th November 2010, 10:24
If any fair judge of the sport were to name the 3 best drivers of the 2010 season, I can bet you that they are not going to pick either of Vettel or Webber. Top 3 have definitely been Alonso, Hamilton and Kubica this season. It is unfair that only one of the 3 is having a shot at the title now. Critiques say that mistakes and reliability failures balance out over the course of the season, but I doubt that can be said about 2010. Reliability issues have definitely not been balanced between all the drivers in contention.
If Webber becomes the champion on the last lap after Vettel lets him through, he will have become a WDC after being out-qualified and out-raced by his team-mate for 6 races in-a-row. Out of the 4 wins, the first two – Spain and Monaco – were because Vettel’s chassis had a problem. I will give Webber his 2 wins at Silverstone and Hungary – fully deserved. But even with Vettel’s immaturity and mistakes, he has still been the better driver than Webber. Critiques say that Vettel is a terrible overtaker, but how much better is Webber? Vettel did excellently in Silverstone. And made a mess in Turkey and Spa. Likewise, Webber did well in Singapore, but failed miserably in Valencia.
IMO, Webber will be a fair champion if and only if he fully dominates the Abu Dhabi weekend. Like how Vettel dominated the Suzuka, Korea and Brazil weekends. Vettel will be a fair champion if he does win the WDC, but it is unlikely. And Alonso will also be a fair champion if he becomes one on the next sunday, regardless of the TO at Germany.
Baracca
8th November 2010, 11:25
Well for him, but Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton might conceivably beg to differ. Also he got lucky, after the race we knew that his right front wheel was just about to give up the ghost from collision damage by the time he got to the flag. Not to mention that a penalty was considered but not given. With a DNF or penalty in Singapore he would be pretty much out of contention now (and HAM’s chances would be a lot better now if the overtake had been clean).
Daniel
10th November 2010, 1:39
The incident was under investigation. That’s not the same as considering a penalty. Even the British media thought Hamilton was at fault.
Ben Curly
8th November 2010, 10:33
“Vettel will win the championship if he wins the race in Abu Dhabi and Alonso fails to finish fourth or higher, while Webber will be champion if he wins and Alonso is no higher than third.”
Let me rephrase that:
“Webber will win the championship if he wins the race in Abu Dhabi and Alonso fails to finish second, while Vettel will be champion if he wins and Alonso is no higher than fifth.”
Souds a little bit different, doesn’t it? More honest, I’d say…
Hamish
8th November 2010, 10:40
Lets not mention the 89 championship in regards to qualifying then.
David BR
8th November 2010, 12:05
Okay, imagine this scenario:
Vettel is leading Webber into the last corner, Alonso 20 seconds behind in third. Vettel finally relents and lets Webber cross in first, closely (very closely) trailed by himself. Ferrari tell Alonso.
Alonso spins off.
Webber wins the championship. But Vettel would have won had he not let Webber past. So did Alonso spin off on purpose?
He never tells. Even decades later.
MondoL
8th November 2010, 14:15
Brilliant! Alonso’s psychological wars with Vettel won forever!.
I was amused by Alonso chatting happily after the GP with Vettel in front of Webber. Alonso NEVER chatted happily with vettel in HIS LIFE. Why acting so cocky in fornt of Webber this time? I could hear the bull inside Mark grasping the ground with his hoofs.
Serifo
8th November 2010, 12:20
I think Hamilton can be the dark horse next weekend! In fact I would love to see the following scenario :
– It`s the final lap , Hamilton is leading , Webber is second ( 5 seconds behind Hamilton ) , Alonso third ( 7 seconds behind Webber ).Hamilton radios Mclaren askind who will be the champion , they reply it will be Alonso unless Webber goes first ! He then asks Mclaren how far are Webber and Alonso behind him , they reply Webber is 5 seconds behind and Alonso is 12 seconds behind. Now it`s the final corner , Hamilton stops right before the Chequered flag allowing Webber to go first and be the champion !!! :) Ha ha ha , I want to see Alonso`s red face ….
* I didn`t forget Vettel , let say he had a very bad race start , and he was relegated to 5th behind Button !
David BR
8th November 2010, 12:58
True Serifo, if Hamilton/McLaren do have a good final race, he will probably decide the fate of the championship. Personally I’d prefer a scenario in which Hamilton helps Alonso win the title, that would be even worse for all the pro-ALO-anti-HAM fans to swallow! Much better than Hamilton preventing him winning.
Serifo
8th November 2010, 14:00
If Hamilton helps Alonso win the title , I will take that as sign of Hamilton joining Alonso in Ferrari next season or after his current Mclaren contract expires !! A British tabloid recently quoted Hamilton saying – ” I would have no problems having him [ Alonso ] as a team mate ….. When he comes to Zurich he texts me every now…” !
As a Mclaren fan I will be disappointed to see Hamilton leave , but I may swallow it , because for two seasons now Mclaren failed to give him a winning car. Anyway let see what will happen next sunday , he may end up Champion if he wins and Alonso / Webber have DNF , and Vettel finishes 3th !
David BR
8th November 2010, 18:55
Worth remembering how Vettel nipped in front of Hamilton at Interlagos 2008, almost taking the title off him! Totally within his rights (Vettel) but I can imagine Lewis seizing the chance for pay back if it came.
Really can’t see Hamilton winning or even been close to the front, but strange things have happened. His best bet would be an Alonso DNF late in the race, which would free up Webber and Vettel to battle it out. They’ve been close on track so a clash and maybe double spin off track would be more than possible. Would just need Hamilton close enough to get past both of them and win. Like I said, not very likely…
Bruced
8th November 2010, 12:51
ROFL. That would be absolutely priceless. Cheers for making my day with that mental image, Serifo.
sumedh
8th November 2010, 12:54
Alonso should tell Vettel to his face: “Look bro, if we are in this order at the final lap of Abu Dhabi, don’t let Webber through, you take the win, I take the title. If you let Webber through, I will crash, which means you not only lost the race win, but also the title.”
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
10th November 2010, 12:14
Lol! But either way, Vettel loses! So he has to take his pick! :D
RobertG
8th November 2010, 12:58
it could end badly to them
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
10th November 2010, 12:07
I don’t know about everyone else, but I really don’t want Renault to change. I think they have only just got their act together after ‘crash-gate’ and seem as though they could be a challenger next year. They don’t need to undo all of this hard work now they have finally made it back to the pointy end. Besides, I like the livery as it is! :P