Dyed-in-the-wool racer Martin Brundle on Monday said he sees no quick end to Red Bull’s new self-induced crisis.

“I doubt that trip across the Atlantic for the next round in Montreal will extinguish these fireworks,” the BBC commentator said on Monday, as the international media got to work on Sebastian Vettel’s crash at Istanbul Park with race leader and teammate Mark Webber.

The Sun’s headline referred to the one-two gift handed to McLaren, toying with the energy drink’s slogan by insisting “Red Bull gives you wins”.

Other sections of the press were more serious.

“Red Bull has a conflict of jealously and betrayal,” said El Mundo newspaper in Spain.

Italy’s La Repubblica likened the previously dominant team’s self-destruction to “suicide”.

Britain’s The Independent referred to the fact that Webber, branded crazy by Vettel’s gesticulations and told by his bosses that he should have let the young German past, must now have the impression he is the number two driver.

Webber acknowledged that Vettel’s gesticulations were caused by the “adrenalin” of the moment, but “Red Bull need to take steps to ensure the current world championship leader can have complete faith that the support within the team is spread evenly”, said the newspaper.

And Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport noted that the 33-year-old is “not the kind of guy who is told to finish second”.

Strangely within the paddock, it was only the Red Bull bosses who thought Webber had done something wrong.

“Where should Mark have gone?” Lewis Hamilton – who had a box-seat view of the incident that unfolded in front of him – told German television Sky.

“I think the gap he left him was big enough.

“Even though Jenson and I both want to win, we also have respect for each other.  I’m really happy that I have such a good relationship with my teammate.”

Said Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg: “Mark didn’t move at all.  For me, it was clearly Sebastian’s fault.”

Niki Lauda said the 22-year-old had been “much too aggressive”, and former driver Alex Wurz noted in Turkey: “All my racing colleagues are in agreement that it was Vettel’s fault.”

Ross Brawn thinks these situations can be minimised if drivers know clearly the rules of engagement.

“It depends on what has been said beforehand,” the Mercedes team boss is quoted by Die Welt newspaper.  “Although it’s racing, the rules must be known to the drivers.”

Peter Sauber, meanwhile, had some sympathy for Christian Horner, admitting to Blick newspaper in Switzerland that these situations are “a nightmare for a team chief”.

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Peter Sauber has confirmed that Nicolas Todt visited the Swiss team’s Hinwil headquarters last week.

Earlier, it was rumoured that Frenchman Todt was eyeing a merger of his GP2 team ART, but Sauber insisted in Turkey that his team is not being sold.

The 66-year-old said in an interview published at motorsport-aktuell.com: “I have had a very good relationship not only with his father (Jean Todt) but also with him, especially through Felipe Massa.”

Nicolas Todt also manages the 29-year-old former Sauber driver and Brazilian Massa.

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Pedro de la Rosa has admitted he was asked to hold station behind his Sauber teammate at the end of the Turkish grand prix.

Kamui Kobayashi scored the Swiss team’s first point of the 2010 season on Sunday, but his veteran teammate Pedro de la Rosa was mere tenths from his rear wing at the chequered flag.

“I am very happy to have been competitive, but I wanted something more,” he is quoted by the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

“I was close to the points but when you have to fight your teammate for it, it is difficult,” added de la Rosa.

“I had to restrain myself.  I wanted to attack him but on the radio they said other things,” revealed the 39-year-old Spaniard.

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On the occasion of Ferrari’s 800th grand prix, Tony Fernandes made sure the Italian team’s celebratory champagne tasted sour.

After proving the strongest of the three new teams in 2010, the Lotus team boss stared mockingly at the qualifying timesheets in Turkey and recalled the pre-season words of Luca di Montezemolo.

The Ferrari president had derided the new teams, accusing them of reducing F1 to little more than a glorified junior series.

But Lotus is now closing on the tail of the established teams, including Force India whose Tonio Liuzzi was just 1.2 seconds clear of Jarno Trulli at Istanbul Park.

And “The team who has done 7 races (is) 2.4 seconds slower than the team who has done 800 races.  Wonder if Luca still thinks we are rubbish,” Fernandes wrote on his Twitter.

Ferrari began the season with one of the favoured cars, but a worried Fernando Alonso said in Turkey that the F10 is now “far behind” Red Bull and McLaren, outpaced by Mercedes and at risk of falling away from his old team Renault.

“We need to roll our sleeves up even higher,” team boss Stefano Domenicali told Finland’s Turun Sanomat after Alonso suggested the car has not been developed quickly enough.

“In Valencia we will have a strongly updated package,” he promised.

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Having arrived with a dominant car and leading both world championships, Red Bull has departed Turkey in crisis.

“They step on their tails too often,” said BBC commentator Martin Brundle, after Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel crashed while running one-two at Istanbul Park.

Crash and loss of tempers aside, the team’s management then misled the media about Webber’s fuel-saving engine setting and gave the undoubtable impression that it is the young German Vettel who they want to win the 2010 title.

Compounding the team-induced mess is that the isolated Webber, 33 – who had been in the midst of contract negotiations about 2011 – is now the clear leader of the world championship.

Even Webber’s race engineer Ciaran Pilbeam has been put offside.  When asked why Webber was not told that Vettel was much faster, Marko told Auto Motor und Sport: “We told his engineer but he did not pass on the information.”

Dr Helmut Marko, believed to be leading the German-speaking faction of the Austrian-owned team, denied that Red Bull is poisoned by an internal division.

“That’s not true.  We are handling our team and both drivers in the same way.”

The speed of the crisis is marked out by the memories of just two weeks ago, when Vettel and Webber exaltedly leapt off the motor home into the Monaco harbour.

“I’m sure they are not going to be going out for dinner in the coming days,” Marko said when asked if Sunday had destroyed their relationship.

For many in the paddock, despite their apparent media-savvy humour, Red Bull has never been the friendliest team in the paddock.

“They were always trying to squeeze (tension) between Fernando (Alonso) and Felipe (Massa) and at the moment they are facing this situation on their side,” said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Referring to his Maranello employer, Fernando Alonso said: “It shows that there is a united team in the paddock.”

“The important thing is to have respect,” Felipe Massa added.

Team boss Christian Horner insists he will sort out the mess before Canada, after a patch-up job in the Turkey paddock proved impossible because Vettel had stormed out of the circuit.

“One of our drivers has gone,” Marko confirmed when asked by the press late on Sunday.

Arguably the best-connected member of the Brazilian formula one media, Galvao Bueno, has revealed that Felipe Massa only needs to put his signature on a new Ferrari contract for 2011.

In the wake of strong speculation that the 29-year-old Paulista might lose his seat to a rival driver, it was reported in Turkey that Massa is now closing on a new deal.

Galvao is the influential lead commentator and head of sports for Brazil’s Globo TV.

Ferrari had a bad weekend at Istanbul Park, but Galvao said: “Want the good news about Felipe Massa?  Everything is set (for a new deal).

“(The contract is) missing two or three commas, but the signing should happen quickly now.”

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Lewis Hamilton on Sunday was visibly not jubilant as he accepted the winner’s trophy for the twelfth time in his career.

It emerges that the 2008 was unhappy not with teammate Jenson Button’s feisty racing from behind while the pair were running first and second at Istanbul, but the prior “communication” from the McLaren pitwall.

“The communication wasn’t clear for me,” said the Briton, who fought back and re-passed Button after they had been told to save fuel.

“When they suggested ‘save this much fuel’ it was not easy unless I went ridiculously slowly.

“I tried to reach that target and in doing so Jenson all of a sudden appeared from nowhere.”

Button confirmed that his attempt to take the lead from the sister MP4-25 came after he was also asked to save fuel.

“After that (incident) it was back to full save mode for me,” said the reigning world champion.

The Daily Star newspaper interpreted the save fuel instructions from McLaren as a veiled order for the pair to “Cut it out!”

But Hamilton insisted: “We don’t have instructions.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner saw the behaviour of Hamilton and Button as a lesson to his own drivers.

“When drivers are in the same team it is important they give each other a bit more respect and concede if one has got a run on the other,” he said.

Hamilton said he had a front-row seat to Sebastian Vettel’s crash with Mark Webber, and sided strongly with those who put the blame at the young German’s door.

“He did the exact same thing to me as he did to Mark.  It was dangerous.  He was so quick, so aggressive as he tried to turn into me, fortunately I had enough space,” said the Briton.

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May 30 (GMM)  Red Bull had instructed Mark Webber to switch his engine to a fuel-saving mode in the moments before his crash with teammate Sebastian Vettel in Turkey.

In the aftermath of the controversial incident, rumours began to swirl inside the Istanbul Park paddock that there was more to it than met the eye.

Australian Webber alluded to the intrigue by telling reporters after the race that Vettel had a “big top speed advantage” when he launched the move.

Pressed for whether there was a reason for the speed difference, Webber answered: “Hmm, maybe.

“You guys need to dig more, somewhere else.”

The media therefore went to team bosses Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, who initially did not confirm that Webber and Vettel’s engines were running on different settings.

“I think it was in the tyres,” said advisor Marko, when asked specifically if there was a reason that Vettel was so much quicker than Webber at the time of the shunt.

Both Horner and Marko seemed to blame Webber for the crash, directly contradicting many experts within the paddock.

It is rumoured that, as the pair were on equal points at the head of the world championship at the time of the shunt, Red Bull wanted Vettel to pass Webber and win the race.

Marko denied that Webber’s engineer had been instructed to tell the driver to let Vettel past.

“That is not correct,” said the Austrian, “because that would mean a team order.

“We informed Mark about the situation and it is for the driver to decide.  The fact is that if Sebastian hadn’t passed he would have been overtaken by Hamilton.”

Red Bull’s F1 chiefs on Sunday backed Sebastian Vettel after the young German’s crash with teammate Mark Webber in the Turkish grand prix.

Australian Webber said the sister RB6 turned into him during the overtaking manoeuvre, but team advisor Helmut Marko pointed a clear finger of blame at the 33-year-old and his race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam.

“Webber was slower and Vettel had immense pressure from Hamilton,” Marko said on German television RTL.

“Unfortunately, Mark was not told about the situation accurately by his race engineer,” he explained.

But Marko was also critical of Webber’s behaviour.

“He had radioed the pits to say he was slower on the straights (than Vettel).  He knew the situation and had just been informed about the pressure Hamilton was putting on (Vettel).

“Vettel was so much faster than he had to pass.  If Webber and he had braked together, then Hamilton would have passed Vettel,” said Marko.

Initially, team boss Christian Horner had indicated he was angry at both drivers, but eventually it was Webber who took the blame.

“It looks as though he didn’t leave Sebastian enough space.  It was very clear he (Vettel) was by his side and in front.  But I still have to speak with both of them,” said the Briton.

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Because the decision about next year’s supplier is taking so long, F1 teams are designing their 2011 cars around the current specification of Bridgestone tyre.

The Japanese marque is departing the sport, and it had been expected that the Italian company Pirelli would be unveiled this weekend as successor.

But Michelin has thrown a spanner in the works, sending competition boss Nick Shorrock to Istanbul, where a 90 minute meeting on Sunday resulted in the teams still not deciding on an outcome for next year’s world championship.

“It’s going to take a little while longer,” Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn told Reuters in Turkey.

But the teams’ designers are out of time, and leading outfits are getting anxious.

“It’s already late and we cannot really waste more time on it,” said Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali.

Brawn said the teams are handling the situation by producing a “technical specification” of the tyre they want for 2011, and are therefore able to continue with plans for next year’s cars.

“Our cars are being designed around the current tyres because we have no other information,” he explained.

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Sunday afternoon in Turkey hosted a dramatic seventh round of the 2010 world championship.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, challenged hard by the McLarens, collided whilst running first and second at Istanbul Park, triggering dramatic scenes both trackside and back in the paddock.

After emerging from his stricken RB6, German Vettel twiddled his finger around his ears in disgust, but whilst enraged initially refused to speak to reporters.

“Don’t you throw me around!” a journalist barked at a Red Bull minder as Vettel pushed his way into the Red Bull transporter.

Eventual winner Lewis Hamilton quietly asked Webber about the incident after the race, and the Australian gestured that Vettel had turned sharply to the right whilst alongside him.

Webber, 33, was then fiercely reserved whilst addressing reporters in the FIA press conference, but admitted that he thought Vettel had “turned pretty quickly to the right” before the crash.

In a frantic paddock press scrum, an angry-looking Vettel explained: “It was clear I had the inside and was ahead.  I dived down the left, I had the corner so I was trying to focus on the braking and I lost the car.”

Team boss Christian Horner said he was angry at both drivers.

“What we always ask is that the drivers give each other room,” he said.  “Today, neither yielded.”

BBC commentator Martin Brundle concluded that the young German was “unquestionably” at fault, and McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh admitted he is not sure he would have “cuddled” Vettel when the 22-year-old eventually walked to the pitwall.

But although celebrating a one-two at Red Bull’s expense, there was also controversy on the McLaren pitwall, after Jenson Button and Hamilton tussled for the lead after being told to save fuel and tyres.

Having been captured by live TV images in anxious response to their wheel-to-wheel battle, Whitmarsh admitted the moments had made him “uncomfortable”.

But the outcome of the race, while leaving championship leader Webber five points clear, sees both McLarens close behind, with Vettel dropping 15 points behind.

(GMM)

The F1 circus will leave Turkey without a decision about the sport’s tyre supplier for 2011.

The sport arrived in Istanbul earlier this week amid speculation Pirelli had been selected and would be unveiled as Bridgestone’s replacement before the event was out.

But it then emerged that Michelin’s Nick Shorrock had arrived in the city, and the French marque’s competition boss met for 90 minutes with team bosses on Sunday.

The meeting broke with team figures saying only that a decision has not been made and is not due for a few more days.

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Cosworth is not in Rubens Barrichello or Lucas di Grassi’s good books at the scene of the Turkish grand prix.

Williams’ Rubens Barrichello, just fifteenth on the grid at Istanbul Park, said the British team is “suffering” from a lack of power.

“The engine that we brought did not work,” he is quoted by Brazil’s Globo.  “The straightline speed is not good.”

Lucas di Grassi is also unhappy, having been outqualified by Bruno Senna of the struggling HRT team.

“My lap was good,” said the rookie, who is finally at the wheel of Virgin’s updated VR-01 car this weekend.

“The car was good in the corners, but the engine was not working on the straights or in acceleration.”

Di Grassi will have a fresh engine fitted for Sunday’s race.

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Lewis Hamilton on Saturday hit back at Nigel Mansell, after his fellow British world champion dismissed him as a “manufactured” driver.

1992 title winner Mansell is quoted as criticising the fact that some drivers like Hamilton are backed as karters from a young age, disadvantaging those who cannot secure such lucrative support.

“How many people from seven years of age have been given 2.5 million pounds to go karting?” he said.

Mansell, 56, also said Hamilton “didn’t handle” the tough times in his F1 career so far because it was “the first time ever in his life he’s had a tough time”.

After qualifying on the front row in Turkey, three tenths faster than his teammate and reigning world champion Jenson Button, Hamilton was unimpressed when he heard about Mansell’s comments.

“Clearly Nigel either has not been reading the right stories or he has not got his facts right,” said the McLaren driver.

“I was not signed up until I was 13 so I would love to see where the rest of that money was since I was seven,” added Hamilton, insisting that until he was signed by McLaren, his parents did it tough financially.

“I wouldn’t have expected that from him but that’s the way it is.”

And team boss Martin Whitmarsh added: “I just hope that Nigel is being misquoted. It often happens apparently.”

(GMM)

Jenson Button on Saturday said he thinks McLaren has taken a step closer to the dominant Red Bull team.

The reigning world champion qualified half a second behind pole sitter Mark Webber, but his teammate Lewis Hamilton was only a tenth from the leading RB6.

And the McLarens managed to split the Red Bull pair, although Sebastian Vettel led both Q1 and Q2 and would have been comfortably on pole had he managed to replicate his earlier pace before a brake problem.

Button told reporters: “In Barcelona, the gap to the Red Bulls was almost a second.  Here, it’s a couple of tenths.

“Red Bull’s qualifying pace is what has stood out about them.  If we’re closer in qualifying, I think we can challenge them in the race.”

Hamilton acknowledged that the Red Bulls “still have a performance advantage” over the rest of the field, and team boss Martin Whitmarsh said it showed particularly “in the all-important Turn 8″.

(GMM)