Formula One:Red Bull's drivers may be raging, but they today scored another one-two in first practice ahead of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will again be the men to beat in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix following another dominant day of practice. Vettel and Webber have locked out the front row of the grid at each of the last two races in Japan and Korea following qualifying, and they look poised for a hat-trick at Interlagos tomorrow.
However, there may yet be a fly in their ointment as heavy rain is being forecast which could turn the formbook upside down. But on a day of dry running, with afternoon temperatures hitting 30 degrees centigrade, it was Vettel who again led the way, with team- mate Webber forced to settle for second best.
After finishing just under half-a-second clear of Webber at the end of the morning’s 90-minute session, Vettel saw that gap cut to just over a 10th of a second later on. The 23-year-old German, in desperate need of a victory to ensure he remains in the hunt for the title going into next weekend’s closing race in Abu Dhabi, posted his fastest lap in the afternoon with one minute 11.968secs.
Around the 4.309km circuit, the second shortest on the calendar behind Monaco, Webber was a mere 0.104secs adrift, with Fernando Alonso third. It is understood championship leader Alonso is currently walking a tightrope as the suggestion is he is on his final engine that has already run a number of miles.
Ferrari have been desperately attempting to manage the engine situation with Alonso’s car as he used up his permitted eight for the season some time ago. Since then they have been swapping and changing engines, trying to extend their life, only for one to give way in the dying moments of first practice.
It was evident, however, they were already aware of the situation as they admitted just as practice started they would be changing it anyway given the lack of life left in it. Alonso managed 36 laps in the afternoon, finishing 0.360secs down on Vettel, with Lewis Hamilton fourth in his McLaren, sandwiching the Ferraris as Felipe Massa was fifth.
But in a further blow to the Maranello marque, Massa stopped at the same place as Alonso had done earlier 30 minutes from the end of the second session with a suspected hydraulics issue.
Renault’s Robert Kubica was sixth, followed by reigning champion Jenson Button in his McLaren, the Briton 1.238secs off the pace and apparently struggling with rear wing issues.
Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld was a creditable eighth, with the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher ninth and 10th. Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, who crashed into a tyre barrier in the morning, was 15th following sterling work from his engineers to ready his car again during the two and a half hours between runs.
Virgin’s Timo Glock brought up the rear, a coup for Hispania who normally find themselves in such a position. Instead, Bruno Senna and Christian Klien were 22nd and 23rd, but with the bottom trio all just over four seconds behind Vettel.
Vettel, meanwhile, has hit back at Webber’s claim that Red Bull are emotionally favouring the young German. Webber yesterday suggested his tilt at the Formula One title this year had been “inconvenient” to Red Bull.
Team principal Christian Horner dismissed Webber’s comments, insisting the Australian had received the team’s full support. It prompted what appeared to be a heart-to-heart between the two men last night outside the team’s hospitality unit in the paddock at Interlagos, with Webber in particular quite animated.
Now Vettel has had his say, notably via one comment aired on German television station RTL in which he said: “If Mark needs help then he should take the medical car.”
It further underlines the divide which exists between the drivers and seems a clear indicator that Vettel will not aid Webber’s cause at any stage. Asked specifically if he felt the team were emotionally rooting for him, Vettel said: “No. Obviously a lot of things have been said or written.
“Everyone has his own opinion, but for me we both have the same chance every weekend to do well. The team supplies us with a very good car and that’s ultimately the situation that you want to be in, having a car where you can win races and fight for podiums.
“Mark has been in Formula One much longer than I, but I remember my time three years ago, I was dreaming of being a guy able to finish on the podium, able to win races. I’m enjoying a lot what I’m doing and I’m very proud and happy to be in the position I am now, and happy to be in a team like I am.”
Vettel also feels he has had the rougher ride this year in terms of mechanical issues. He suffered a spark plug problem that dropped him from first to fourth in Bahrain, a wheel failure that pitched him into the gravel in Australia when he was leading and a blown engine while also leading in Korea in the last race.
It was also Vettel who came off worse when he and Webber collided in Turkey, as he retired while his team-mate managed to keep going after spinning off, eventually finishing third.
“I think I’ve had lots of ups and downs this year, but if something has broken then it has tended to break on my car,” Vettel added. “But do I think there is any conspiracy in the air? No, it’s the last thing I think about. I always approach things by thinking there is a reason something has happened.
“If it does I speak to Christian, I speak to Dietrich (Mateschitz), the people responsible for our team. If something is not right, not happening the way I feel it should, then I say something. That’s what everyone does. I am who I am and I always say what I think. Sometimes I might hold back on my opinion because I think it’s the smarter way. But I’m the last guy to cause conflict when it’s not necessary.”