Vettel, Webber clear the air following ‘disaster’ Turkish GP crash

London, June 4(ANI): Red Bull Formula One racing drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have had clear-the-air talks following Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix ‘disaster’ collision.

The pair met with team bosses at their headquarters in Milton Keynes, and Vettel made the statement that both drivers are happy to continue to work together, The Sun reports.

The crash, a reprise of a collision between the two in Japan three years ago, came on the 40th lap when Vettel attempted to overtake Webber on the inside and then turned right into him.

Vettel spun out of the race, while Webber went on to take third place behind the McLaren pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner said the crash, which robbed them of a one-two finish, was simply an “unnecessary” racing accident, and added that all factions of the team believed both drivers were equally guilty of not giving each other enough room.

“Ultimately we win as a team and we lose as a team and on Sunday we lost as a team, as a result of our two drivers having an incident. Having looked at all the information it”s clear that it was a racing accident that shouldn”t have happened between two team-mates,” Horner said. (ANI)

Red Bull’s Webber claims Turkish GP pole

Istanbul, May 29(ANI): Red Bull Formula One racing driver Mark Webber on Saturday claimed his third straight pole position of the season, when he clocked the fastest time in qualifying for Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix.

Webber lapped the Istanbul Park circuit in one minute 26.295 seconds to secure his place at the front of the grid ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

In making it three pole positions in a row, Webber became the first Australian to achieve the feat since Sir Jack Brabham in 1960 and the first driver in F1 since Ferrari’s Felipe Massa three years ago, The BBC reports.

The 33-year-old Australian has now claimed four poles this season, while the Red Bull team has taken all seven.

Webber’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, with reigning world champion Jenson Button fourth in the second McLaren.

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes finished fifth, ahead of Nico Rosberg in the other Mercedes, Renault’s Robert Kubica and Massa. (ANI)

Alonso wrecks Ferrari, to miss qualifying

Fernando Alonso will start Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix from the pit lane after wrecking his Ferrari in final practice for the showcase race of the Formula One season.

A Ferrari spokesman said the Spaniard, a two times winner in the Mediterranean principality with Renault and McLaren, had damaged his chassis beyond repair in the crash on Saturday morning and would not take part in qualifying.

Double world champion Alonso is currently second in the championship, three points behind McLaren’s Jenson Button after five races.

Alonso ripped the right front wheel off the car and smashed into the metal barriers at Massenet on the approach to Casino square.

The stricken red car was then craned off the track in front of the luxury Hotel de Paris.

Stalking back to the garage, Alonso blamed himself for the accident and told a BBC pitlane reporter that he had simply “lost the car.”

Ferrari confirmed there had been nothing wrong with the car.

“He’s not doing qualifying,” a spokesman said. “We can’t repair it. We need to change it (the chassis) and there’s nothing you can do in two hours.”

The Italian team have not won in Monaco since Michael Schumacher’s fifth triumph in 2001 and have not started any race on pole position since 2008.

Poland’s Robert Kubica was quickest in the final practice for Renault with a lap of one minute 14.806 seconds, ahead of Alonso’s Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa.

Australian Mark Webber, who won in Spain last weekend for Red Bull, was third fastest with 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton fourth for McLaren on a cloudy morning in the Mediterranean principality.

Schumacher, the seven times world champion returning with Mercedes at the age of 41 after three years out, was sixth on the timesheets, behind compatriot Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull.

Formula One champion Button was 10th for McLaren and said he was struggling for grip.

(Editing by Alastair Himmer and Alison Wildey. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)