McLaren boss, Martin Whitmarsh, has sent out a warning to the Red Bull team after it appeared that the team favoured Vettel over Webber before Qualifying at the British Grand-Prix.
Both drivers at Red Bull were given a new, upgraded front-wing at the start of the weekend, thought to be worth an extra 0.1s a lap. However, in free practice 3, the font-wing supports failed on Vettel’s car leading to the wing being damaged beyond repair.
RBR boss, Christian Horner, then took the decision to take Mark Webber’s wing off of his car and put it on Vettel’s, leaving Mark with the old-style wing, and 0.1s a lap to find.
F1 pundits, fans and media alike were dumbfounded by this decision and Mark Webber wasn’t too thrilled either.
Whitmarsh sent out a clear warning to Horner today, “You have got to think carefully about decisions,” he said. “Drivers are immensely competitive individuals. If they perceive something that is not even-handed or fair, then you are going to have some trouble.”
Vettel put his car on pole-position, just over 0.1s quicker than Webber, the difference that the wing makes. Vettel suffered a first-lap puncture allowing Webber to go on and win the race which he claims was even “sweeter” because of the controversy.
Fall-outs between the Red Bull drivers can only be a good thing for Whitmarsh and the Woking-based squad, but Whitmarsh insists that he can’t wait for the arguments to steer the championship in his favor.
“I hope there are cracks and divisions in all our competitors and they all fall apart, but I am not going to rely on it. We have got to make our car quicker and try and win the championships that way.”
Lewis Hamilton currently leads the drivers championship and McLaren sit top of the constructors table.
