16/11/2010
NEWS STORY
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For the second time this year, 'clear the air' talks have been held at Red Bull, as the Austrian outfit seeks to play down speculation that its championship winning team is on the verge of breaking up with Mark Webber heading elsewhere.
Earlier in the summer, the team's PR department went into overdrive as the media talked of "civil war" within the Milton Keynes based outfit. As Webber bitterly commented "not bad for a number two driver" as he took the chequered flag at Silverstone, team boss Christian Horner was forced to confirm that there was no favouritism within the team.
Despite the PR spin and cheesy photo-op (above), the speculation continued, with Webber fanning the flames on the run up to the Brazilian Grand Prix. Days before the penultimate race of the season the Australian claimed that Vettel was the favoured driver within the team. "I think I wasn't supposed to be in the hunt, at all," he said of the fact he was battling with his teammate for the title. "So it's been maybe quite inconvenient."
Throughout the Abu Dhabi weekend the Australian appeared clearly down, a situation that wasn't helped when Vettel took pole position and followed it up with a lights-to-flag victory that was to secure the title. Even as the Champagne was being sprayed there was rising speculation that Webber has driven his last race for the Austrian team.
However, back home the team is determined to retain a united front, insisting that all is well and that Webber will remain on board for 2011.
In a televised news conference at Red Bull's Hangar-7 facility at Salzburg airport, it was revealed that since Sunday's race, Webber and Vettel have held a(nother) clear the air meeting as the team seeks to dispel the speculation.
"It's not always been easy for either of us during the year," said Webber, "but this is normal when you're competing against each other at this level. At the end of the season, we are honestly able to show respect for each other's performance, which is very important. Congratulations to Sebastian, he really deserves the title."
"Obviously there were times when we had different opinions," added Vettel. "But I think that's normal. When you're running at the same level you're going to get in each other's way and you're going to try to get whatever advantage you can. That's all fine and that's how you push each other on. It wasn't always easy. I think the talk we had after the race and after the season was good for both of us.
"I think we were able to put it all into words quite well," he continued, referring to the meeting with his teammate. "It would be wrong to say 'What happened during the season was all rubbish and now everything is rosy'. Obviously there were moments. But it never went as far as the people on the outside expected."