JULY 19, 2010

Mateschitz: the pits must not interfere

Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz says there is no number one or number two driver in his team and that the team should not interfere in the driver rivalry.

Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz says there is no number one or number two driver in his team and that the team should not interfere in the driver rivalry.

Mateschitz, speaking to the German newspaper Kleine Zeitung, said he was not involved in the controversial Silverstone decision to take an upgraded front wing off Mark Webber's car and give it to team mate Sebastian Vettel just ahead of qualifying, after Vettel's own wing had been damaged in the final session of free practice.

Mateschitz said that Red Bull should not have a number one driver because the philosophy was "not in keeping with my understanding of racing." He added: "Our two drivers know that, a) they have to beat the other and, b) they still need each other to take points away from the competition. Both drivers have cars to exactly the same standard and the wing problem at Silverstone was the first exception."

Mateschitz said he thought it "unlikely" that his warring drivers would let in a rival to win the championship but "would not rule it out. And if it happens, we're talking about racing." The energy drink magnate said that while it was regrettable that the Silverstone controversy erupted in the way that it did in the media, Webber had done nothing wrong.

The championship heads to Vettel's home race at Hockenheim this weekend with Red Bull Racing trailing McLaren by 29 points in the constructors' championship and Webber 17 points adrift of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' championship. The Red Bull drivers are separated by just seven points.