Share

Drivers spat nothing new in F1

accreditation
<b>SOUR GRAPES:</b> The controversial Malaysian GP  still hangs over Red Bull team mates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel . Their current dislike is nothing new in F1 though, and has been around in each era between drivers. <i>Image: AFP</i>
<b>SOUR GRAPES:</b> The controversial Malaysian GP still hangs over Red Bull team mates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel . Their current dislike is nothing new in F1 though, and has been around in each era between drivers. <i>Image: AFP</i>
SHANGHAI, China - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber may have grabbed the headlines after Vettel defied Red Bull orders to win in Malaysia, but they are not the first team mates to spectacularly and publicly fall out.

Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna became sworn enemies at McLaren in the 1980s, while Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell were bitter rivals even before they found themselves in the same garage at Williams during the same era.

REPEATED HISTORY

And then there was Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi at Ferrari, also in the 1980s, whose relationship turned decidedly sour after an infamous incident that Vettel and Webber were to replicate more than 30 years later.


It was the 1982 season, the San Marino GP when Pironi overtook Villeneuve, who believed that broke a team order. Villeneuve then did likewise to take back the lead in the penultimate lap.


But on the final lap Pironi passed his fellow Ferrari again, swerving dangerously in front of Villeneuve to snatch the win. Villeneuve believed the Frenchman had defied team orders, and was furious.


Villeneuve was killed weeks afterwards when he crashed during qualifying at the Belgian GP. It is widely accepted that Villeneuve died in pushing himself to better the time of his nominal team mate.


The 1997 World champ Jacques Villeneuve, son of Gilles, said: "Ignoring (orders) is just plain wrong. The best example is my father and Didier Pironi. Just look at the problems that caused," after the Vettel-Webber controversy.

SILLY BOY

"His (Vettel's) behaviour was just stupid. Such negative energy does not help the team and also, if he now needs help from Mark, he cannot be sure he will get it."

After that Ferrari dumped its policy of equality between its drivers.

Vettel, the reigning three-time World champion, apologised after defying Red Bull team principal Christian Horner in March 2013 in Malaysia to snatch Webber's lead and win in the most controversial of circumstances.


But he appeared to make an about-change on Thursday (April 11) in Shanghai, ahead of the Chinese GP, saying that he would do the same all over again if it meant winning. Besides, he argued, Webber didn't deserve to win the race.


Horner was subjected to a barrage of questions on Friday as to how he hoped to foster a truce between a pair of individuals whose relationship, while never being too good, has now reached a new low.

"Sebastian hasn't achieved the success that he has in his career by being submissive," said Horner, describing the Vettel-Webber rivalry as "healthy".


DEFENDING ACTS

"He saw an opportunity, he took it into his own hands, he'd saved a set of tyres from the previous day and he wanted that victory more than anything else.

"I think he justified to himself that previous events that had taken place (between the two drivers) was part of his judgement on what he chose to do that day."


Ross Brawn, Horner's counterpart at Mercedes, also had a delicate situation to deal with between his drivers in the aftermath of Sepang.


New recruit Lewis Hamilton, whose relationship with Jenson Button turned increasingly fraught during 2012 at McLaren, came home third. But only after team mate Nico Rosberg had been ordered not to overtake the Briton.

THE GOOD BOY

Unlike Vettel, Rosberg obeyed. But he struggled to hide his frustration with the decision.


"It's both a team sport and an individual drivers' sport and the teams will try to find the balance between those two objectives," Brawn said.


"And they don't always marry easily.


"We want our drivers to race. The rule is don't hit each other and that's all we ask of them and we want them to race. We have demonstrated many times that we're happy to let our two drivers race."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE