Sunday: End of streak for Red Bull after Vettel’s retirement
Sebastian Vettel seemed well on his way to continue his domination in Abu Dhabi, but a puncture decided otherwise. The German driver managed to return to his pit, but with his suspension too damaged, he could not continue, ending a streak of 19 races without a retirement. Mark Webber, on the other hand, did not have a difficult race and with a three-stop strategy, he could do no better than 4th. This Grand Prix also puts an end to a streak of 19 races with at least one Red Bull driver on the podium.
Mark Webber – 4th
During my second stop, we decided to fit the soft tires once again to try to change my race; it was worth a shot. The two DRS zones here were tricky; in the first, it was easy to overtake, but in the second, you couldn’t, so if I passed Jenson, he was able to overtake me back afterward. I think the DRS was a bit of a gimmick today; it was difficult to overtake and then stay ahead. I had a good pace against Jenson anyway towards the end of my first stint, he pitted a lap earlier than us which wasn’t a problem, but then we had a bad stop, so we lost time. That set us back. I managed to come back, but ultimately we were too far to do better.
Sebastian Vettel – Withdrawal
At the exit of the first turn, everything seemed correct and then approaching the second turn, I felt something strange at the rear right. I had to catch the car in a rather surprising manner and the second time I couldn’t do it, as there was no more air in the right rear tire. I had a puncture and spun. After managing to return to the pits, the damage to the suspension didn’t allow me to go back out. I couldn’t have done anything better this weekend; we just need to study why we had this puncture. I had a good start and was happy with the car. Losing the race here, so early, is really a shame. But there was nothing else I could do, so I took the opportunity to learn a bit more about the pit wall.
Christian Horner – Team Principal of Red Bull Racing
«After such a qualifying session yesterday, it was a very frustrating race today. Sebastian had an excellent start and was already ahead at the first corner when there was an instant loss of pressure in the tire, which made him a passenger in his car. The damage to the suspension as a result forced him to retire. »
« For Mark, he was fighting with Jenson. During his first stop, we had an issue with a wheel nut which placed him back behind Felipe Massa, so at that moment we decided to change our strategy to switch to three stops, which was the only opportunity to beat Massa and contend with Jenson. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough laps to catch up, but it was worth the try and Mark drove brilliantly. Fourth was the best we could do today. So, on a circuit that has been successful for us over the past two years, it’s frustrating to have our first retirement (for Vettel) due to a tire problem. Congratulations to Lewis for his race today. »
