Even three full weeks and a grand prix after the Red Bull teammates’ crash, details of the Turkish incident are still leaking out.

With controversy and intrigue having surrounded their crash whilst leading May’s Istanbul race, the latest tidbit is revealed by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

The report claims that although Sebastian Vettel was roundly criticised for jinking to the right before contacting the sister RB6, Mark Webber could have followed the advice of his race engineer and perhaps avoided the incident altogether.

It recently emerged that engineer Ciaron Pilbeam radioed Webber on the lap of the crash to tell the Australian that, although his engine was turned down, he could “use your overtake button for a boost on the straight” to repel an attack from Vettel.

Even when in a fuel-saving engine mode, the button temporarily delivers the full 18,000rpm of power.

But Auto Motor und Sport reports that Webber did not know whether he should press the button just once, or for the duration of the power boost, with the “confusion in the cockpit certainly not helping the situation (with Vettel) at 310kph”.

(GMM)

Jun.9 (GMM)  As Red Bull continues to put the pieces of its fractured team back together, boss Christian Horner has moved to exonerate Mark Webber’s race engineer.

Initially after the Australian crashed with his teammate Sebastian Vettel while they led in Turkey, Horner and team consultant Helmut Marko pointed the finger not only at Webber but also Ciaron Pilbeam.

Race engineer Pilbeam was accused of not passing on information about the charging Vettel to Webber, and conspiracy theorists believe he refused to implement a team order.

Moreover, the official video edit of the Istanbul race published by F1′s official website depicts Pilbeam instructing Webber to use his overtake Button to repel Vettel’s attack.

And in an interview with the BBC published on Wednesday, Horner denied that he was calling on the pitwall for Webber to “move!” in the moments before the crash.

“I don’t think I actually said ‘move’,” said the Briton.

“Ciaron Pilbeam has taken a bit of flak recently.  He had no instruction to tell mark to move out of the way, that is 100 per cent clear.

“There was no conspiracy trying to get one car past the other or getting one to slow down,” added Horner.

He also admitted that team figures had been wrong to initially blame Webber for the incident.

“In the cold light of day it was a racing accident, nothing more, nothing less.  It was wrong to blame either driver,” said Horner.

As Red Bull drew a line under the matter on Thursday, former FIA president Max Mosley waded into the debate about the collision between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in Turkey.

After a meeting in Milton-Keynes on Thursday, the team issued a statement that included a jovial photo of the teammates with the caption ‘Shit happens’.

“I’m sorry for the team that we lost the lead of the race.  Mark and I are racers and we were racing,” German Vettel, 22, is quoted as saying.

With the blame-game apparently put to bed, Mosley however told the German newspaper Die Welt that he thinks the crash was Australian Webber’s fault.

Interestingly, 70-year-old Briton Mosley is a close friend and former F1 ally of Red Bull’s Austrian billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

Dr Helmut Marko, also Austrian and Mateschitz’s right-hand man on motor racing matters, also initially blamed Webber for the lap-40 shunt at Istanbul Park.

“From my perspective,” said former long-time FIA president Mosley, “I do not think that Sebastian Vettel should receive the blame for the collision.”

Mosley added: “At the time of the accident Vettel was clearly faster than Webber.  At this stage he (Vettel) had the right and the duty to overtake.”

Red Bull has revealed that Webber was running a fuel-saving engine setting while Vettel was not, and that the Australian radioed the pits to ask the McLaren-pressured Vettel to drop back.

Moreover, the team claims Webber’s race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam failed to pass on a radio message warning the 33-year-old not to repel an attack by Vettel, whose tyres were reportedly also in better shape than Webber’s.

Marko aside, most of the F1 world said it was Vettel who aggressively turned right whilst alongside the sister RB6 driven by Webber.

“I do not agree,” said Mosley, strongly siding with Marko, who along with team boss Christian Horner also attended Thursday’s clear-the-air meeting.

Said Mosley: “It can be clearly seen that Vettel had already passed Webber before the collision, and at that time Webber should have given him more space — especially as they were already on the far left side of the track.

“Now you could argue (about the blame) if it had not been Webber’s teammate, but as it was, he (Webber) should have respected his responsibility to the team.

“Remember, both cars were doing almost 300kph, so considering the risk, he (Webber) should have taken a chance to improve his position at another point in the race.”

When told by the Welt interviewer that the same rationale also applies to Vettel, Mosley answered: “The crucial point speaks for Vettel and against Webber — that one driver in this moment was fast, while the other was slow.”

Mosley, who speaks fluent German, also said he does not believe Red Bull’s apparent desire to see Vettel ahead of Webber amounts to illegal team orders.

“I cannot see that,” said the Briton.  “Vettel was under pressure from Lewis Hamilton, he was faster than Webber, and to shake off the McLaren he needed to pass the slower Webber.

“Even if this situation was declared to the drivers by radio, this would not be a team order or a manipulation of the drivers’ championship, but rather an explanation of a particular situation — (it is) necessary information for the drivers.”

Comparing the situation to Ferrari’s infamous place-swapping in Austria in 2002, Mosley said “one was a conscious manipulation of the world championship, the other is the legitimate explanation of a racing situation.”

(GMM)

Red Bull’s clear-the-air meeting, to be attended by both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, will take place at the team’s Milton-Keynes headquarters on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid new developments in the wake of last Sunday’s collision of the two RB6 cars whilst they led the Turkish grand prix.

While team figures have backed away from pointedly blaming Webber for the incident, isolated as a scapegoat could be his race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam.

Already heavily criticised by Dr Helmut Marko, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claims that Pilbeam not only failed to pass on information about the charging Vettel, but actually told Webber to use his overtake button to repel the attack.

Red Bull has said Webber was – unlike Vettel – in a fuel-saving engine mode at the time of the contact, and was also struggling with tyre wear.

And in quotes published by British newspapers The Independent, the Mirror and the Telegraph, boss Christian Horner revealed that Webber asked the team to advise Vettel to back off the lap before the crash.

“There was no way you could do that because of the McLarens being right there,” said the Briton.

And team advisor Marko told Bild newspaper: “Mark had radioed the pits to say he was having problems and was slow.”

Also slow was his pitstop, 33-year-old Webber claimed after the race, joking that his crew “put fuel in, I think”.

According to some German reports, video footage exists of Horner mouthing “pass!” on the pitwall in the moments immediately before Vettel’s overtaking attempt.

Niki Lauda thinks German Vettel, 22, is clearly the team’s number one driver.

“Whoever thought previously that Webber is the number two was well informed,” the triple world champion is quoted by German-language spox.com.

“It was only because the team wanted to influence the race that it got messed up,” the Austrian continued.

Red Bull insists that Webber and Vettel are treated equally, but Marko is quoted as saying appointing a number one would be an “easier” strategy.

“But that is not in the spirit of our team,” he insisted.

Added Lauda: “In terms of the team, Webber is to blame (for the crash) because they wanted him to wave Vettel past.  But that would be team orders and not allowed.”

He also points out the current difficulty, with Vettel apparently favoured but Webber leading the world championship and 15 points clear of the sister car.

“I would be logical for the team to focus on one driver, but usually that would be the one who is in front,” said Lauda.

Webber wrote on his Twitter on Wednesday: “Bloody hell guys, thank you for your support.  Sport can be amazing sometimes, huh, that’s why we love it!

“Head down for Canada,” he added.

(GMM)

A crisis meeting will be held in the next few days at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes headquarters, in a bid to ease the ill-feeling in the wake of the Sebastian Vettel-Mark Webber shunt.

“The goal is to win the world championship with the fastest driver.  Above any individual interest must be the general interest, and that is the success of the team,” team advisor Helmut Marko said on Austrian television Sport und Talk aus dem Hangar-7.

“The two drivers do not need to go out for dinner with each other, but they must cooperate,” he insisted.

Marko maintains that, prior to the contact whilst leading the Turkish grand prix, Webber’s race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam should have passed on the team’s instruction that Vettel was not yet in a fuel-saving mode because he had an extra lap of fuel.

“Why (he did not pass on the information) is still not entirely clear,” said Marko.  “This engineer simply had a blackout; he did not respond properly.”

He insists the turning down of Webber’s engine did not amount to a team order.

“The message to Webber should have been ‘You’re too slow.  At this rate, Hamilton is going to be straight past you.  If Vettel is faster, don’t fight against him, concentrate on Hamilton’.

“That is not a team order,” Marko said.

(GMM)

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.

(GMM)