F1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX:THE SO-CALLED special relationship between British drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button was dismissed as nothing more than "smoke and mirrors" by their Red Bull rival Mark Webber yesterday.
Webber’s relationship with his team-mate Sebastian Vettel came under scrutiny after they collided when running one and two in Istanbul at the end of May, while the mood music between the Ferrari pair of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa has often sounded less than harmonious.
But the Australian said it was no different at the Woking-based camp and the relationship would be tested during the season.
“They’ve been working very hard with smoke and mirrors at McLaren,” he said. “Lewis and Jenson are always racing at the front and it’s inevitable that it’s gonna happen, because of what’s at stake and both are hungry drivers.”
Talking about his relationship with Vettel, Webber added: “We’re pretty good. If Seb was drowning in the ocean I’d go in and save him. But it’s totally natural that there will be rivalry. If you are like Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen (at Lotus) there isn’t so much at stake right now.
“But look at Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. They were both at the front and were both trying to win. It’s not possible in that situation to have a beautiful, fuzzy relationship because the other guy is a competitor.
“Here, the whole team learned from the incident in Turkey. But 80 per cent of the grid would give their right arm to be in a similar position, with two guys fighting at the front.”
If Hamilton and Button consider Sunday’s British Grand Prix as their home race so does Webber, who lives in a village just half an hour’s drive away.
“The good thing is that I can stay at home, and I know all the back routes in from my cycling. There are clear positives; we all know how much we like staying in hotels. I know the home crowd will be rooting for Lewis and Jenson, but I’ve always got on pretty well with the British fans.”
Vettel and Webber made it a Red Bull one-two at Silverstone last year and they need something similar this time on the new circuit if they are to reassert their position in this highly competitive season. It was a wonder Webber could speak, let alone look forward to Sunday’s race, following his spectacular 200mph crash in Valencia 10 days ago.
After his car smashed against Kovalainen’s Lotus it soared in the air, hung there momentarily like a performing dolphin, and then crashed down, turning over before hitting a tyre barrier.
The chassis is being rebuilt, but Webber’s leading mechanic, Mark “Crunch” Lenton thought it would not be used again and left an RIP note in it: “You gave me the best day of my life, and also saved my mate.”
There were other fantastic crashes at the Red Bull factory yesterday but fortunately they were on the simulator, built in-house at vast expense and introduced in March last year.
“With new corners it’s important to get a feel for them,” said Webber. “Simulators are not the real thing, but it’s good to get a feel. I didn’t realise, for example, just how tight the second left-hander is at the Arrowhead.
“The rest was as you’d expect. We’ll be able to drive Korea before we ever get there . . . ”
Meanwhile, Polish driver Robert Kubica has signed a contract extension with the Renault Formula One team which will keep him with the French outfit until the end of the 2012 season.
Kubica, sixth in the world championship standings, had been linked with a move to Ferrari, but is staying at the team with whom he has scored two podium finishes at Australia and Monaco this season.
“It was a straightforward decision for me to continue with a team where I feel at home,” said the 25-year-old.
- Guardian Service
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