Red Bull drivers lock horns and show teams frailties

The Turkish Grand Prix illustrated one of the greatest challenges in motorsport: what should a team do when they have two drivers challenging for race wins and the world championship.

Prior to this weekend Red Bull had enjoyed superiority over all its rivals and had showed itself to be considerably faster on various types of tracks. In Turkey though McLaren showed they are developing their car as well as anyone and challenged throughout the weekend.

During the race the cars of both teams pulled away from the field and lapped comfortably quicker than the opposition until the incident that became the main talking point of the race with the leading Red Bull’s clashing as they battled for the lead.

Who was to blame for the clash between the Red Bulls?

Sebastian Vettel was in second at the time and had been lapping faster than Mark Webber and tried to make his move for the lead down the back straight into a tight hairpin. Vettel used all the track, with Webber giving his teammate a cars width, but still Vettel tried to push across the road and creat more space for himself. He closed on Webber who would not budge from his line, the Australian was racing hard but fair as Vettel still had enough room to attempt to make the move.

It was at this point that they clashed, Vettel coming off worse and retiring. Webber eventually finished in third but as the Australian took to the podium and the after race press conferences it was clear who he felt was to blame.

Vettel has clearly been under pressure and sought to show his team that he was still their best hope for the title but by causing this accident it will be interesting to see what way the team starts developing the car from this point forward. Webber has clearly gained the upper hand in the last number of races but this incident could lead to momentum shifting further from Vettel’s side of the garage.

McLaren though were not faultless as far as the spectrum of allowing their drivers to race throughout a Grand Prix. As the race drew to a close and light rain began to fall Jenson Button closed dramatically on his teammate Lewis Hamilton and passed his teammate. Ironically this move occurred at the same corner where Red Bull’s hopes for winning were dashed.

The move by Button was a clean overtaking manoeuvre but into the first turn Hamilton retook the lead. On a greasy race track it is very easy to snatch a brake and slide wide; as it was the McLaren’s did contact slightly with one another but managed to get away without damage. It would have very easy for both McLaren drivers’ races to end at that point and for the team not to take advantage of the mistakes made by Red Bull.

Teams need to look at the larger picture and ensure wins

Team principals need to make the decision as to when to allow drivers to race and when to make sure they hold station and bring home points. By allowing its drivers to race hard throughout Red Bull cost itself the chance of maximum points. It will be interesting to see if the team allow such a situation to occur again in future.

Team orders are officially banned in Formula 1 after incidents in the past saw drivers hand victories to their teammates. At present, teams need to be creative in how to inform their drivers of how they are expected to race. McLaren showed how this charade has to occur by radioing orders for their drivers to slow down and hold station by saying they were short on fuel. This though only occurred after their drivers near miss.

Winning a world title is exceptionally difficult but it is even more challenging when you create avoidable issues for yourself. Obviously for fans it is exciting to see incidents like the Red Bull clash but the team needs to recognise that the most important thing is to win the title. In the past teams have allowed their drivers to race until after the pit stops and then the drivers hold station until the flag. This may not be as exciting as a hard fought race but for a team the only thing that matters should be winning races and winning the title.