Sebastian Vettel sounds unlikely to voluntarily fall in line behind Mark Webber as Red Bull pushes for its first ever drivers' world championship.

Although heading for the championship lead in Korea before his engine failure, Vettel is now 25 points off Fernando Alonso.

It means Ferrari's Spanish driver is the favourite for the title, with Vettel's Australian teammate Mark Webber the most likely challenger due to his 11 point deficit.

But Germany's Bild newspaper said it sounds unlikely that Vettel is going to give up.

"Nothing is going to change in my approach to the final two rounds," he is quoted as saying. "My (engine) failure makes everything more interesting and difficult. But it is still possible.

"I am going to fight until the end," Vettel vowed.

Like McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh who is in a similar situation, Red Bull chief Christian Horner said before leaving Korea that team strategy will be discussed internally before the season's penultimate event in Brazil.

Former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi thinks Red Bull made a big mistake by not establishing a hierarchy some time ago.

"They needed to take advantage of the fact they had the best car," the Frenchman told CNR Media. "It's doubtful they will have the same advantage next year, so you have to say they have mismanaged this season.

"I think they've missed a great opportunity," added Alesi.

Joan Villadelprat, a veteran F1 team manager who now operates his own Le Mans team Epsilon Euskadi, agrees.

"There has been a lack of solidarity at Red Bull, who have not been able to manage their superiority and are now giving the title away to Ferrari," he wrote in his El Pais newspaper column.

"When a double world champion like Alonso takes the kind of advantage he has now, he does not fail," the Spaniard added.
Source: GMM

Read more: RBR messed up 'great opportunity' in 2010 - Alesi

 

First of all, I don't think they could have found a lamer picture of Vettel if they tried! I LOL'ed when I saw that!

Now, onto the actual article, I think the problem is more of an issue of having two of the best drivers on the grid in what is BY FAR the fastest car out there. Both drivers are very evenly matched. At most other teams, there is some preformance difference between the drivers and that's just the way those teams want it because it makes it easier to choose who will contend the title but at Red Bull, both of their drivers have been on the hunt for the WDC since day 1. Additionally, Red Bull made some obvious (IMHO) moves earlier this season to put Vettel in that #1 spot on the team but Webber stepped up to show that he was capable of being a front runner which put a lot of tension on the team. The biggest problem for Red Bull at this point has been Vettel's enthusiasm and driving beyond his limit in a few occasions which has hurt the team overall. I don't think that choosing a lead driver for Red Bull would have helped their situation any.