Red mist hits Bulls and gives McLaren momentum

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was still fuming yesterday after team-mates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel collided in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix and handed momemtum to McLaren.

Smooth-talking Horner was left almost lost for words in the wake of the crazy crash - and in the red mist that descended over the team afterwards many close observers questioned his and Red Bull's ability to recover and regain the initiative.

Having thrown away another race-winning situation, Sunday's incident will have Red Bull wondering whether they can overcome their reliability and sustainability fallibility - which has seen a team that has started from pole position in all seven races, take home just three wins.

It is no wonder that McLaren, now leading the race for the constructors title, see this twist of fate as an opportunity to assert themselves as the number one team.

Ferrari, the early season pace-setters, remain third ahead of Mercedes and Renault, despite a string of disappointing results that continued in Sunday's race, their landmark 800th in Formula One.

Webber, 33, still leads the drivers' championship over Jenson Button and Sunday's winner Lewis Hamilton, of McLaren, second and third respectively.

Double-champion Fernando Alonso represents Ferrari in fourth, ahead of Webber's Red Bull team-mate Vettel, 22, in fifth.

For the young German, Sunday's collision was the most costly as he lost all his points, his impetus in the title race and suffered a first blow to his previously glowing, and growing, reputation.

Who to blame?

The Red Bull pair came together on lap 40 of the 58-laps race at the Istanbul Park circuit and were left blaming one another after Vettel was forced to retire and Webber made to settle for third after gifting McLaren their second one-two of the season.

"I was quicker. I dived down the inside. I had the corner," claimed Vettel.

Webber said: "We were still a way from the corner. He came to the right pretty fast and it looked like he turned pretty quickly right. We'll probably have a difference of opinion until we go to our graves."

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh, who saw his men scrap safely for victory just a few minutes later, said he felt the blame lay with Vettel, but Horner unexpectedly suggested Webber should have left his team-mate more room.

"They should never have been where they were and they have cost the team a great deal of points," said Horner.