Anarchy in F1?

A secret meeting of the team bosses, negotiations taking place in the dark reaches of un-disclosed locations and plenty of cloak and dagger to cover it up.Welcome the F1 in 2013.

So what is all this about then? Apparently several journalists have spotted Christian Horner, the Red Bull team boss, heading into the Ferrari factory recently, and rumours started to circulate immediately, that either he or Adrian Newey, the wizz behind the Red Bull car´s design success, was contemplating a move to Maranello. However, this is not the case.

A German journalist, Michael Schmidt, was also at the meeting and reported that Horner, Martin Whitmarsh, Niki Lauda and Bernie Ecclestone was having a talk with Ferrari supremo Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, regarding the 2013 Concorde Agreement, which has still not been signed by the FIA.

The only deal already signed is a financial package, which gives the teams 60% of the revenue for the season. Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes receives a bigger slices than the rest of the teams. The FIA is yet to sign and the governing body is reportedly asking for $40m slice of the pie. But until then, the “processes for agreeing and enforcing rules are currently up in the air,” as one website said.

Ecclestone was heard mention, that he did not think it was necessary to sign the Concorde Agreement…

Vettel not leaving Red Bull

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has reiterated that his double world champion is not going anywhere.

For weeks the rumours have been ripe about Sebastian Vettel´s alleged pre-signing with Maranello to join Ferrari in 2014, in fact so much so that there is apparently already a contract in place and it is just a matter of time before Vettel can make the transition.

But now Christian Horner is commenting on the rumours, insisting that Vettel is staying put.

“I have spoken with Sebastian about it and he’s made it quite clear that he hasn’t had any dialogue and hasn’t signed anything with Ferrari,” Horner told Reuters. “The rumour mill always will continue.”

Horner´s comments has come at a time when not only Vettel has been rumoured to leave Red Bull for Ferrari, but also team mate Mark Webber has been linked with a move, after this season, to replace Felipe Massa.

“I think most of our team has been going to Ferrari at some point this year, whether it be Adrian [Newey], Mark [Webber], Sebastian, even myself at one stage was supposed to be going.

“Sebastian is very comfortable in the team, the team is very comfortable with Sebastian. He’s been with Red Bull for over 12 years now and I think he will be us for quite a few years to come. I have no concern over Sebastian and where he will be in 2013, 2014 or beyond.”

Red Bull cries foul over Mercedes F-duct

On Thursday in Malaysia, the teams met with the FIA to discuss various issues, most notably the F-duct on the Mercedes rearwing.

The system, which is basically a non-moving air channel, that leads the air onto the rearwing and stalls it, creating a higher top-speed, was deemed legal by the FIA, after Red Bull and Lotus asked the governing body for clarification on the matter. However, the two teams are now calling it a breach of the gentleman´s agreement between the 12 teams, a deal apaprently made last year, where the teams agreed not to pursue certain technical directions.

“They are not complying with the agreement of the technical working group,” said Red Bull´s Christian Horner. And design guru Adrian Newey told German Auto Bild Motorsport: “The FIA has allowed the system, but Mercedes has gone against the gentlemen’s agreement of the teams.”

What remains certain though, is that Red Bull are under pressure this season. Only one race in and the message from McLaren and Mercedes is clear: Move over, we are here to take you on.

 

Horner to Vettel: Shut up and do your job

Winning a championship is a great feat for both team and driver. And in the case of Sebastian Vettel winning for Red Bull, no one can argue if the glove fits. Vettel matured a lot since last year, but was still charging on the tracks, not losing his edge. Starting out by securing poles in a row and three race wins, only to take four more poles and an additional three victories means, that Vettel is sitting nicely on top in the standings. But is he getting big-headed? Apparently Christian Horner seems to think so…

Six wins out of eleven races, and leading Mark Webber by 85 points, is remarkable. But with cracks appearing in the veneer at Silverstone -  the race was won by Fernando Alonso – two more races followed, one won by Lewis Hamilton, the other by his team-mate Jenson Button, it seems Vettel is searching a bit too hard for a quick-fix to the “problems” the Red Bull are having. he has called for a change in tactics, a different approach, so they can get back to winning more races. But Horner thinks Vettel should keep his nose out of something that is not his business.

“We work as a team and the drivers don’t need to tell the team we need to respond,”said Horner. Sebastian Vettel said that the team needs to attack again, and perhaps that comment prompted Horner to get a little hot-headed.

“It’s fair to say that in the last couple of events Ferrari and McLaren on race pace have made a step forwards, we need to have a look why,” Vettel said.

“But we also need to have a look at ourselves, there is plenty of stuff to learn and things that we can improve without looking at the others. That has to be a target for the next race and for the second half of the season.

“With so many races you have to be prepared and you shouldn’t be surprised if you face some difficult races. But the target for the next race is to attack completely and try to win again.”

Christian Horner is sticking to a plan for the year that seems to work. Vettel is getting impatient, but this is natural for a young, hungry driver, who have won his first championship. He wants more and Vettel´s determination is larger than anything else in his personality, so winning really is everything for him.

“We need to keep doing the best job we can and keep getting developments to the car,” said Horner.

“If you look at all the races this year, I don’t think there are any races that we’ve run away and hugely dominated.”

“If you think back to Melbourne, Hamilton was closely behind Seb and in Barcelona, even in Valencia Alonso was very tight with us.

“Operationally we’ve been very, very sharp and we’ve extracted the best from the car on a grand prix weekend and that’s where the team has been very strong this year.

“These tyres are very complicated but the one thing that has been consistent is Red Bull running at the front.”

Horner: We can be mythical

Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull, has commented on the many rumours surrounding his driver Sebastian Vettel and his desires to one day drive for Ferrari.

The winter period has been buzzing with the rumours and a few days apart, another website ran the story, until people started to believe that Vettel was indeed on his way to the Maranello-based team. But Christian Horner insists the Red Bull team is not about to give up their 2010 world champion.

Ferrari is “for many men is a love story. Ferrari is just a myth,” Horner told The Bild. “But just because he’s romantic doesn’t mean he’s going to give up everything that we have built together. As long as we offer him the perfect car, he will stay here.”

He added: “We are regarded more as the cool team. But who knows, maybe one day we will also be legendary – thanks to Sebastian.”

Earlier this week Fernando Alonso said that its natural for any driver to think about driving for Ferrari, because of its legacy.