They must think Ferrari are willing to sacrific Massa for another Alonso charge through the second half. Can't take the risk with him beating seb to the end because Webber wants to fight out with Seb while Massa isn't allowed with Alonso.
@geni As you well know,money talks.WCC +WDC=LOADS OF LOOT. Hate this crap myself but from a financial point of view CH made the right call IMHO.
No danger from behind, no chance to challenge Alonso, 2 laps to go. It made sense to secure the constructor points without risking the 2 guys taking each other out. I am not saying that team orders to protect the leading driver would be completely beyond RBR - I don't trust any team on that matter - but in this case it was more about preventing them from doing something stupid imo.
The question is would Horner of done the same thing if it was Webber leading and Vettel behind? I think not as last year showed.
Mark was clearly faster at this stage of the race. Vettel should be mature enough by now to know that 15 points are better than none and he too should also think of the constructors' points.
Scenario=Jenson Button leads the last race of the season,Lewis Hamilton needs the win to be WDC.Do you let your drivers race or give 'team orders'????
Which comes back to my point. Today Red Bull has confirmed that, even with such a commanding lead in both championships, they are not about competition or sport or fairness. They're all about the money. That's kind of forgivable (but kind of not) if you've been in F1 for sixty years and it's your bread and butter and you are fighting for survival. For a team that's come up from nowhere in six years it's kind of despicable. Mateschitz's claim that it's about having fun is a lie. Horner's claim that it's about sport is a lie. Red Bull have proved today that they're as committed to F1 as a BMW or a Ford. It proves (to me and, I'm sure, others) that Vettel's no racer - he's another Schumacher and he can only win in the pits and when everything (car, regulations, team mates) are bent to making him win. It proves (to me and, I'm sure, others) that Red Bull's not in this for the sport - they're in it for the profit. Forza Alonso. Forza Hamilton. Forza Button. Whoever finishes ahead of the others will be the true 2011 champion, not because they have the best car but because they're racing for F1. The purist in me says let them race. The entertainmentalist in me says let them race. The intellectual in me says let them race. The sociopath in me says "move over Button, your time is up."
Well, obviously you still keep the individual points situation in mind. If you call off the battle between your 2 drivers, this was obviously the best way of doing it given the current driver standings. The battle for the drivers championship is not over yet. All I am saying is that the decision made perfect sense. If this situation would have been different, e.g. Webber clearly faster and still with a chance to challenge Alonso, I would hope that the decision would be a different one - and I think it would have been. But that is obviously all speculation.
There's another older thread which asks if Vettel's championship will be devalued, the general consensus was no. Today again exposed his weaknesses when not in front and how he still depends on preferential treatment from his team. The same accusations were levelled at Alonso after Germany last year so surely it is reasonable for them to apply to Vettel now. Those points mattered to Webber but Webber's points didn't matter to his team.
I am assuming Button can't win himself, but Button said last year that he would not need team orders because he can think for himself and knows what the right thing to do. So no team orders because the driver would do it themselves.
I think that's a bit harsh seeing as Lewis and Alonso have had team orders in the past when it was illegal, they might not have been out in the open but it was all pre arranged. I know a lot of people are going to be fuming, thinking RBR were going to be different, but I did say a while back that it was only a matter of time when we see team orders, so nobody can close the gap quick enough to mount a challenge. Ferrari and McLaren's biggest hope now is that Webber keeps on fighting Sebastian taking points off. RBR will not allow this and I feel Webber is treading on thin ice now and is one backchat off from being given the boot and getting replaced by somebody for the rest of the season.
Ah what the hell gengi,I'm not going to argue.I'm going on the beer.Have a good one mucker. PS.Have you ever heard of Irish road bowls? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjEmWZzQO7A Never mind F1,this is where it's at
Fair enough. The question is what skill set you take as the basis for such discussions. Each racing series has its differences in technology and rules and therefore you need slightly different skillsets
Hit the button too early..... In F1 the racing really starts with the qualifying. So the safest and best strategy to win is to qualify in pole position and the win the race from the front. Vettel is doing this so far to perfection.
Yes, that thread was in my mind as I wrote my reply. I very firmly said no, having the best car (which is what the OP asked, I think) does not devalue the WDC at all. I also think that Schumacher's contractual WDCs (i.e. when they had the best car and his tem mate was still required to move over) are not devalued. But I've changed my mind. What devalues Vettel's championships for me is that he's never proved himself as a great on-track driver like Schumacher had before his Ferrari championships and that Ferrari never claimed they gave equality to both drivers. Vettel's a sham. Red Bull is a sham. Mateschitz is a liar. Horner is a liar. Newey is a whinging twat. They can have 2011. Alonso, Hamilton and Button are the real racers. That where F1's future lies. That's real racing.
So Vettel has had half the season in a car miles better than the rest which he has made good use of by putting it on pole and driving away with the race. Now it seems Ferrari have caught up with them, however even though Vettel might of lost the car advantage he now has an unwilling shield in Webber to help him win the WDC and fend off Alonso despite being almost 100 points clear of him. Vettel is immense when he is in front and can control the race and drive off with it, however when he does not have the car advantage to let him do that and he is in with the rest of them he looks much less brilliant; he can't overtake and even his tyre management went away today. That said it has only been one race so it is too soon to judge but I have always said and today backs it up that you can't judge how good Vettel truely is until he is racing wheel to wheel with drivers like Alonso, Hamilton and Button and then we will see how good he really is.
