Bear in mind that all we really have is Webbers view on things, and it's known that he's been a bit of a wussy lately... so I have to think that Vettel will be made very aware of the importance of letting Mark take the win if Vettel can't do it (i.e. if Alonso is in 3rd). Alonso's best chance may be to be further back in the field and let the two of them crash each other out trying to win
I don't think that a man of Alonso's mindset will be content to let fate take its course. Depending on how things are shaking out he may not fight for the win but he won't be waiting for someone else to fail. Webber may be the one talking directly to the issue but comments (and actions) of the rest make their positions pretty obvious. I suspect that Seb feels secure enough in the team that the minor scolding he'd get for not helping webber wouldn't be enough to effect his behavior.
I highly doubt Seb would refuse to move over if Alonso was in 3rd. The reason you don't hear the team or Vettel committing to it in public is probably down to fear of the FIA. Just because they let one team off for using team orders doesn't mean they'll let another. They're not exactly famous for their consistent application of the rules...
My opinion has nothing to do with the FIA's rules or punishments. The fact that Ferrari ran afoul of them was due to their ham handedness not the malfeasance itself. I'm not predicting that Seb wouldn't, just that with RB its not the given it would be on most other teams.
Webber needs to drive in a do or die attitude, like he did at Silverstone. He has nothing to loose and only a WDC to gain ... and if the team tell him again that his engine is overheating or using too much oil ... who gives a fnck, it either hangs together until the end or it goes bang, but just driving around hoping for the team to gift it to him will only result in NO WDC and a very pissed off Mark. Atleast if he crashes or does not finish he gave it a red hot go ... this is a good thing because Mark is better under no pressure and this all or nothing attitude equates to no pressure. Pete
that's maybe his second best chance. he might just win! i think i read he'll have a good engine for that race...can't hurt.
I was messing around and came up with the same chart of scenarios. There are some interesting tie-breaker possibilities as well: --IF Vettel wins AND Alonso finishes 5th, they will tie on points (256), Wins (5), 2nd (2) and 3rd (3). Assuming they continue down to 4th Place finishes, Vettel pips Alonso 3-2! If Webber finishes second under this scenario, he will ALSO have 256 points, but will lose the tie-breaker with only 4 wins. --IF Alonso doesnt score AND Webber finishes 6th AND Vettel finishes 3rd, Webber wins the 3-way tie-breaker. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the impetuous Vettel binned both he and Webber early in the going.
It may be that we're just seeing a new team in over its head when it comes to handling the politics of F1. Like Ferrari in Germany, what RB is doing is nothing new. They've just F'd up the public face of it. Problem is that the majority of fans know only what they see and have no context so how thinks LOOK can be as. if not more, important as they ARE. BTW I didn't forget the video it just wasn't worth sending. D.