Red Bull: peace meeting between Vettel and Webber

The long-awaited peace meeting between Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber has been set for Thursday, at the team's base in Milton Keynes.
The reunion comes after new developments came to the public following the accident between the two while they were first and second in last Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix.

While some team members have backtracked and absolved Mark Webber of any blame, his race engineer Ciaron Pilbeam could become the scapegoat in the whole affair.

Already much criticized by Helmut Marko, German publication Auto Motor und Sport claims that Pilbeam not only failed to warn Webber that Vettel was faster, but actually asked the Australian to use the overtaking button to repel the attack.

Red Bull confirmed that Webber - unlike Vettel - had the engine in "economy" mode at the time of the crash and was also struggling with tire wear.

The British newspapers Independent, Mirror and Tekegraph reported a statement from Chrstian Horner, according to which Webber had asked the team to advise Vettel to slow down a little one lap before the collision.

“But it was impossible to do that because the McLarens were very close,” said the Briton.

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko told Bild: "Mark contacted the pits to say he was having problems and was going slowly."

Webber said after the race that his pit stop was also very slow and joked that his mechanics “even refueled, I think.”

According to information from some German sources, there is a video in which Horner can be seen saying “overcome!” from the wall a few moments before the failed overtaking attempt.

For three-time world champion Niki Lauda, ​​22-year-old Vettel is clearly the team's first driver.

“Whoever previously thought that Webber was the second driver was well informed,” the Austrian told spox.com

“The confusion was only created because the team wanted to influence the outcome of the race,” continued Lauda.

Red Bull insists that Webber and Vettel have the same kind of treatment within the team, but Marko has already said that choosing a first driver would be the "easiest" solution.

“But this is not in the spirit of our team,” he specified.

Lauda added: “In terms of the team, it's Webber's fault because they wanted Vettel to overtake him. But these would be team orders, which is not allowed.”

The former Ferrari driver also points out the current difficult situation, in which Vettel seems to be the team's favorite but Webber is leading the championship with a 15-point margin over his teammate.

“It would be logical for the team to focus on just one driver, which would usually be the one in front,” Lauda said.

Webber posted on his twitter on Wednesday: “Damn guys, thanks for your support. Sport is amazing sometimes, and that's why we love it!

“Now we're going to Canada,” he added.

André Cotta