At last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix Red Bull ran different spec cars. Mark Webber was driving a chassis with the latest updates, including a revised exhaust layout, while Sebastian Vettel was using the RB8 matching pretty much what we first saw back in pre-season testing.
Results from the three races to date go almost exclusively in Webber’s favour. Mark has qualified ahead of Sebastian at all three grands prix and finished fourth in every race so far. Vettel has finished second, eleventh and fifth.
As well as that Vettel has been busy throwing vegetables at the backmarkers, only to be labelled a “cry baby” in return.
Clearly, he’s not enjoying the success he’s become used to. Given the stunning heights the 24-year-old has already scaled in his young F1 career this reality check is not sitting too well with him.
And now he’s being told he has to race in Bahrain using a car not of his choosing. “[The] ‘Webber-specification’ exhaust is the right way forward,” said Red Bull’s chief adviser, Helmut Marko. “We will go on with the Mark Webber car.”
Speaking to Servus TV in Austria, Marko explained why Vettel appears to be struggling, “He can’t get the confidence he needs with the car and this makes him make uncharacteristic mistakes.”
When asked to have a stab at why Webber seems to be coping better with the RB8, Marko replied, “Mark is less sensitive to the [car’s] behaviour. He just needs four wheels, but it’s different for Vettel.”
Confirming two things, one we already knew, that things are different for Vettel at Red Bull and that it seems Webber is the brains of the two when it comes to ongoing car setup and development.
[Source: Speed TV | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
One reply on “Vettel forced to follow Webber’s lead”
Vettel played dirty in the Chinese GP with Webber, cutting him off and killing any hopes of Webber finishing in front to Hamilton.
Really Feel for Webber.