MOTOR SPORT:THEY MAY be worlds apart off track but on the Interlagos circuit there was hardly anything between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber as the Red Bull duo dominated free practice ahead of tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix. By the end of the day just a 10th of a second separated the warring team-mates, with Vettel marginally ahead.
There has been no love lost between the pair since a mid-season collision scuppered the victory chances of both at the Turkish Grand Prix, and, following a British Grand Prix incident in which an improved front wing was swapped from Webber’s car to his team-mate’s in the run-up to qualifying, the two have fought tooth and nail for dominance within a team which has seen both maintain title charges.
The row flared again this week, with Webber insisting on Thursday that while the team had backed him with technical help, Red Bull’s emotional support had always been for Vettel, a graduate of the company’s young driver programme. His own championship contention had, Webber said, been an “inconvenience”.
Vettel bit back yesterday, German TV reporting that when the young driver was asked if he would aid Webber’s quest for the title, he responded that “if he needs help he should take the medical car”.
And in response to Webber’s assertion that the team was emotionally favouring Vettel, the German said: “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.”
The 23-year-old, who lies third in the title standings, 25 points behind leader Fernando Alonso and 14 adrift of Webber, added that he had had his own share of problems during the season but had not pointed fingers as a result.
“I think I had lots of ups and downs – statistically, if something broke, then it tended to break on my car,” he said. “But do I think there is any conspiracy in the air? No, it’s the last thing I think about. I always think there is a reason why things happen.”
He concluded by insisting he would not be drawn into verbal sparring with a team-mate saying: “I’m the last guy who goes into conflict when it’s not necessary – so that’s it.”
Instead, Vettel took the battle to the track and, after running quickest in the morning, cemented his early weekend dominance with a narrow, if symbolic, victory in the afternoon. “Obviously it is not the most important thing to be on top of the list on Friday, it’s much more important tomorrow and especially on Sunday, so we will see. It looks like it was a good start, though,” he said.
Webber too played down the significance of his team-mate’s time, adding that the rain forecast for this afternoon’s qualifying session could make all of yesterday’s data redundant. “Look, he (Vettel) went a bit later and it’s pretty close. It’s pretty even at the moment,” Webber said. “It was a good Friday actually. Conditions were good, so we made the most of it.”
Drivers Points
1. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 231
2. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 220
3. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 210
4. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 206
5. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 189
Constructors Points
1. RedBull - Renault 426
2. McLaren - Mercedes 399
3. Ferrari 374
4. Mercedes 188
5. Renault 143
