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.”
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