One so, the other differently, both wrong

 

One so, the other differently, both wrong, could describe what was going on in the race for the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel ignored team commands and overtook Mark Webber, while Nico Rosberg obeyed and stayed behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Who did the right thing? “Right” is such a relative term that it’s hard to judge. Everyone will do it for themselves, according to their morals, principles and fan connections. From a moral and sporting point of view, Mark Webber definitely deserved to win in Malaysia, as he was even better than Vettl in the race, and he managed to overtake him only when the Australian limited the revolutions of his engine so as not to wear it unnecessarily, as will still have to drive with him this year. But if you want to succeed in Formula One, you have to do your best. One of the more controversial Formula One racers, Ayrton Senna, once said that if a competitor leaves you room and you don’t take advantage of it, you are no longer a racer. He was a slower racer ahead of Vettl, and his character, which also led him to three titles at his age, simply didn’t allow him the chance to settle for second place if the first was so close. However, this is no excuse. I myself do not advocate such moves, but I would appreciate that Vettl would stand behind his conscious decision to overtake Webber even later.

Just behind the hot Bulls, the Mercedes racers also brought the finish line on Sunday. It was the same situation as we would take it from a parallel universe. Nico Rosberg was faster in the last laps of the race than his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who decided to start the race with engineers with slightly less fuel than Rosberg and was therefore able to compete with Red Bull for a while in the first part with no lighter race. tires, and in the end he was forced to save fuel. Rosberg was faster. He started the race with more fuel and, according to him, he didn’t have to skimp on it. He was faster, and like Vettl, he was instructed from the pits not to overtake his teammate. Unlike Vettl, the command obeyed and remained in fourth place.

If Vettel had already acted unsportsmanlike and immoral when he attacked and overtook a teammate who was not driving at full speed, in Rosberg’s situation, overtaking a teammate would have been right, deserved and fair. Rosberg shouldn’t have paid for Hamilton’s run-in at the start of the race, where he used up too much fuel. The Briton was only lucky to be followed by a teammate willing to obey. Just what would happen if Bernie Ecclestone succeeded with his intervention and Hamilton raced at Red Bull this year instead of Mark Webber?