Mark Webber on Sunday took over the lead of the world championship by winning his second consecutive grand prix in the space of a week.

The Australian, who was unchallenged in the Principality despite the appearance of several safety cars, dominated the entire Barcelona-Monaco double-header and is now level on points with his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Team boss Christian Horner urged Vettel to “relax” if he wants to get back on terms with the sister RB6.

“Sebastian dominated at the start of the season but Mark has really found his stride,” the Briton told the BBC.

“Seb is trying very hard and sometimes you have to relax a little bit and the times will come,” added Horner.

The biggest loser of the Monaco race is the former title leader Jenson Button, whose Mercedes engine overheated during the first safety car period because McLaren mechanics left a bung in his sidepod.

It was a fairly processional but nonetheless incident-packed race, with both Williams drivers crashing, and backmarker Jarno Trulli mounting Karun Chandhok’s HRT right in front of the leader Webber.

There is also a post-race controversy in the stewards’ room, after Fernando Alonso was passed by Michael Schumacher in the short blast between the safety car pulling in and the waving of the chequered flag.

There is some uncertainty as to whether overtaking is allowed in those circumstances on the last lap, with Mercedes’ Ross Brawn and Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali both telling TV reporters their opposing views.

“Our understanding of the regulations is pretty clear but let’s just see what the stewards say,” said Domenicali.

(GMM)

Michael Schumacher’s complaint about his teammate Nico Rosberg was diluted in an official team media release.

Immediately after qualifying behind his 24-year-old countryman in Monaco, Schumacher said Rosberg’s sister Mercedes was “the only car” that blocked him.

“It’s a shame but there you go. It happened in Q3 when there were only ten cars on the track,” said the seven time world champion.

But in a subsequent media release provided by Mercedes, Schumacher was quoted as admitting the Rosberg indiscretion had been committed “unintentionally”.

Schumacher was only half a tenth behind Rosberg in the grid-decisive Q3, but Rosberg’s Q2 time was three tenths faster than the best time Schumacher managed all weekend in the Principality.

Rosberg, just sixth on the grid ahead of Schumacher, told TV reporters: “I should have had pole, or at least first row of the grid. I just didn’t get it together; too many laps with traffic and I made a mistake myself.”

Even team boss Ross Brawn admitted that Rosberg’s Q2 form was “more indicative” of the true pace of the W01 car.
(GMM)