Originally Posted by
Wouter Melissen
The problem with the Red Bulls was that Webber was not slower. Both drivers were told to conserve the engine and Vettel ignored this order and that is why he easily drove around Webber.
Ah, and I was wondering how Vettel made up a 4+ second gap in just 1 lap.
Quick theory, but maybe Vettel's disobeying team orders was to make up for the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix?
I hoped to watch a wet race, but it seems like it was not necessary, as there was a plethora of battles at any given moment during the race. The team orders within Red Bull and Mercedes-AMG were no doubt controversial (the emotions were very visible in parc ferme and the podium celebration), but I am more interested to see how they will play out in the next few races. Shame really, as any genuine racing between those teammates in the season may just end up being misinterpreted by many as "returning the favor".
It was truly spectacular watching Alonso fend off Webber in the first lap with his broken front wing. It will be interesting to see whether or not Ferrari's decision, compounded with Vettel disobeying team orders and taking the win, will come into play at the end of the season (although it is definitely too early to tell which team/driver is in control at the moment).
Hamilton's pulling into the McLaren pitbox was truly unexpected, but very entertaining nonetheless. Within Mercedes-AMG, it would appear, for now, he may have become the favored driver. After all, Martin Brundle did note that Mercedes poured a tremendous amount of resources to have him signed. Rosberg was clearly faster in the closing stages; in some instances, he did not use DRS despite being within a second, and he was begging Ross Brawn for permission to pass, to which he was denied. At the end of the race, he even bluntly told him to "remember this". Watch to see if this was just an instance of the team being conservative, or if in fact Hamilton has become the favorite.
Overall, IMO Mercedes-AMG appears to be handling the team orders fiasco better than Red Bull. This situation will only add sensation to what seems set to be another unpredictable year!
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