Pit-lane incident overshadows Mark’s recovery drive
The German Grand Prix ended in disappointment for Mark at the Nurburgring. After making a blinding start from third on the grid, his race came undone on lap nine when he made his first pitstop.
“There was a problem with the right-rear,” says Mark. “The guys had an issue getting the wheel on and as I pulled away from the pit box it came off and hit one of the FOM cameramen. Most importantly, I hope the guy’s okay; I’ve heard he was taken to hospital in Koblenz and I very much hope there’s no serious damage done.
“It took 2.5 minutes to get me back into the race, by which time I was last of everyone. Given that I’d made a great start to be second into Turn 1, ahead of Lewis [Hamilton] on pole, and I was able to run easily with Sebastian during the first stint, it was a case of coulda woulda shoulda. A very good result might have been possible today without that incident in the pits.”
The Safety Car was then deployed on lap 24 when Jules Bianchi’s Marussia rolled backwards across the racetrack after he’d retired from the race. The resultant four-lap Safety Car period allowed Mark to get back on the lead lap, from where he was able to climb back into the points.
“The Safety Car helped a lot,” says Mark, “because it allowed me to un-lap myself. I was then able to fight my way back up the order. When you’re in heavy traffic like that, you use the tyres more and that makes it particularly tough when the track temperature was in the mid-40s, as it was today. No-one in the points gives up a position easily, but I managed to climb back to seventh by the chequered flag.”
Still, the overriding emotion after the race was one of frustration for Mark. His long-run pace during practice had been very strong; his qualifying lap on Saturday afternoon was only 0.3s shy of pole-sitter Hamilton and he had the race pace to challenge for victory.
“I think I could have challenged for the win,” says Mark. “It would have been tough because Seb had to work hard to stay ahead of the Lotuses, but I would have been up there. When you know you have the pace, it makes a result like today all the more frustrating.”
There is now a three-week break ahead of the next race on the calendar, the Hungarian Grand Prix, although Red Bull Racing will be in action prior to that, at Silverstone’s Young Driver test.
55 Comments
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George
on July 8, 2013Great bloody job Mark again, yeah hope the Camera man is ok. Can’t believe it, everything was going so well. Anyway, back to the next race mate, your doing a brilliant job. How many other drivers could cope with the pressure of having to recover and convert to points without losing it.
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G.Sen
on July 8, 2013Good Drive Mark..but must be frustrating, better luck in the next one
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Susan
on July 8, 2013Was a terrific start Mark then unfortunately pit issue very disappointing. Nevertheless you showed your class and true grit coming through the field to 7th. I was hoping the Lotus cars would catch Vettel but not to be. Sabotage springs to mind yet again, every time you’ve been in a winning/winable position this year either a mechanical fault/pit stop or someone has caused a problem for you. Not to worry half the season to go yet and I hope you can gain a couple of wins before you finish in F1. Keep smiling:)
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Major Payne
on July 8, 2013HI Mark
Great drive as usual, just a bit of bad luck that’s racing, all the best. MP -
Mosh
on July 8, 2013Was gutted for your Mark, watch every race and was beside myself when I heard Horner tell you to switch the engine off. You were definitely in with a great chance to win yesterday, and a GREAT start to boot! The cameraman I believe has no serious injury which is great news, and Mate, what a comeback getting to 7th. Once again your Aussie Grit prevailed and you should be proud of your achievements yesterday and EVERY day you’re on the track. WIll really miss watching you in this sport, it was you that brought my passion back for F1 … thank you xxx
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costa
on July 8, 2013dont worry mark with red bulls evil acts its sure to reflect on red bulls future
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Simon
on July 8, 2013This is unbelievable, you must be so frustrated. I generally don’t like to believe in conspiracy theories and curses but seriously how much bad luck can one man have. With good finish you may have been in 4rd or 3rd on the ladder. Surely it cannot continue. On past history you were strong odds to take a win.
I can’t help but think – Red Bull, German/Austrian owner with new found German son (Vettel), a country that has never had a country-man win their home F1 race and a good lead in the constructor’s championship. After all Dietrich Mateschitz does were his colours brightly with Vettel. Hang in there mate. -
Simon
on July 8, 2013Obviously there is no conspiracy only bad luck. I am just venting the disappoinment we all feel.
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Patty
on July 8, 2013One of your best starts, Mark. Very proud of you. Can’t help but believe that Red Bull was behind this so that golden boy would win. Good luck. Hope you win more races this year before you retire from FI.
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diana
on July 8, 2013Oh God Mark, i had to scream when it too so long for them to change the Tyre, was it planned that way, so you wont win or what? and coming 7th from last. i am proud of you mate, it is u that makes me watch F1
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clinton
on July 8, 2013how can this sought of shit keep happeneing to the same driver… mark clearly had the pace to win the race, and without that dodgey pitstop he may of even jumped vettel by the start of the second stint…. last year it was gearboxes and kers, this year your wheels keep falling off (i dont think iv seen a pit stop slower that say, 3.1 seconds for seb this year)… … its hard to watch really… but webber is a much stronger bloke than i’l ever be and lets absolutely take it to them in the next ten races…! and well said, and recovered, in both posts simon
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Stuart
on July 8, 2013I don’t know what you did differently Mark, but you nailed the start, keep it up.
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Roger
on July 8, 2013I pity the driver who will be taking your place next year. They’ll do the same to him.
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Agnieszka
on July 8, 2013Mark,
A truly fantastic start, you did an amazing job! Bad luck with the wheel changing, hope the guy is ok, but there is another race coming soon, so look ahead and keep on good work. You have proved lots of times you never let things get you down, and it takes a special person to act like that. Roll on Hungary! Best of luck from Poland 🙂 -
jay
on July 8, 2013Mark…hell…what can anyone say to alleviate the frustration and emotional pain…nothing!
I hope the section of film that covered the incident in pit lane becomes available for all of us to watch, because most (I am sure)feel uneasy about what we saw, which was the right rear tire guy not clearly indicating he hadn’t put the wheel on to the brake guy out front…
Now why would he do that? Why was vision shown of him making the big circle with his arms AFTER your horse had bolted?
I would be closely questioning that man, in fact, I’d demand he was taken off the crew, he cost you at the very least second place, and maybe first, but, we all know what ‘your’ team would have done had you continued to challenge the leader…an inappropriate pit call, releasing you into heavy traffic, a delay in the pits, and so on…they have so many ways of disrupting your car and your race, frankly, you are better off out of there.
Pity we didn’t see you in a Ferrari for your last year, allowing you to give that protected little prat a real challenge that his team could not help him with, just real honest racing.
Better luck next race matey, we all are thinking of you.
cheers
jay -
Nick Gillan
on July 8, 2013An amazing recovery, Mark, after your great start and then your terrible bad luck in the pit lane. I feel your pain. But admire your persistent and fighting spirit. All the best for the remaining rounds
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Mike king
on July 8, 2013Mark, I was so proud of the way you took on the down side of what happened in the pits. To drive back to seventh place is a credit to your sheer determination. Drive past the frustration of the moment and show us all what we already know that your the best. Good luck mate.
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Mike
on July 8, 2013Mark, I have got your drivers suit from when you were driving for team Australia in my collection of membrbolia on the wall in my lounge. Every time you drive I hope that red bull will finally do the right thing by you. Yesterday was not the day. Sorry mate best of luck for the future.
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rob
on July 8, 2013Agree with everyone have to get a break sooner or later go mark
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Mark
on July 8, 2013Mate I am so frustrated for you. I admire your tenacity and will power to carry on when obviously things are not going how they should and the “Team mistakes” are made with your car and not the sister car. I think that it is Red Bull’s loss that you are leaving. I had the great pleasure of seeing you in 05 at Spa and also the great fortune for you to answer a question I sent in to a Dutch TV station when you were starting at Minardi, Olav Mol tried to get you to pronounce the name of the village I live in here in Holland, you didnt do too bad either. I will miss being able to get behind a fellow Aussie in F1, in my eyes you have the stuff of champions I wish you all the best for your future with porsche next year and beyond. Cheers mate and thank you for all the great moments and pride you have instilled in all Aussies everywhere.
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Wendy
on July 8, 2013Amazing start Shame about the wheel Good to know the guy will be ok but very sore for a while I’m sure. Fantastic recovery to seventh 6 points is better than zero athough I’d like to think it could have been a win. You must get very frustrated. Surely better luck next time out. I’ll be rooting for you from the grandstand!
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Trav
on July 8, 2013Horner n Newey didnt give a toss about MW pitstop debacle…their son won the race and that makes them happy
Its pathetic!!
Hope you get your tenth win soon Mark….you are all class:) -
Miguel
on July 8, 2013Always the same, I knew something was going to happen, Mark could not overtake Vettel at home. Mark always gets hurt. Change team, Red Bull is a Sh ..
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Jill and Brian
on July 8, 2013Firstly thank goodness the cameraman is ok, could not believe the nightmare that unfolded in front of us. You had a great start and was well up for podium if not top step. What are RB doing to you, really thought your luck had turned a corner last week at Silverstone, then this. Never thought I would say this but will be glad when you’re away from RB and all this crap they keep dishing out on you. They are an utter disgrace. Roll on Porsche Mark. All the best mate
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Martin
on July 8, 2013I won’t miss you in F1 next year because my interest will fade without you in it. You have made the sport a must see for me for many years now – won’t be the same next year. Great drive again.
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drgarlamd
on July 9, 2013Is Marko the right rear jack man now?
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drgarlamd
on July 9, 2013Phenom drive, if you do the time and pace analysis that means Mark would have finished 17 seconds ahead of one Seb Wettel.
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John
on July 9, 2013Sabotaged yet again when you would of had a good run for the win. Its clear it was on purpose especially by the person who was putting on the wheel.
What a joke.
Excellent decision quitting these fools.
Glad the cameraman is ok.
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bruce
on July 9, 2013Well it appears the camera man will be fine and of course he will be dining out on this for a while!!. You have certainly had your share of misfortune so far this season Mark.
Again your honestly about benefiting from a safety car does you credit some of your race mates would not have admitted that. Just try and get a couple of wins.
PS looks as if Rosberg, is getting the Webber treatment at Mercedes, lets hope he proves he is not a number 2 as you did. -
TRICKO
on July 9, 2013really feel for you you had a superb start,the advice from race engineer must have helped, thought you had the German in the first corner i bet he was packing it.i truly believe you would of had the win,but we all new when he came in first you would be held back you would not be allowed to stand in his way,and so it proved,fab driving to get 7 place.did love watching those 2 lotuses hunting him down like wolves!!!!JHerbert said kimi wants to win another championship and red bull is th place to do it ARE YOU SURE,surely Mark wanted to win aswell!!! but youre not allowed to, sorry but Red bull and Ferrari only have eyes for their no 1 drivers.bring on hungary.
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Christos
on July 9, 2013Mark well done for the 7th place. It was a great recovery after that unfortunate incident win the pit-lane. The win was in your pocket until that time! I hope you will be more lucky in Hungary and you will deliver a win to your fans and the team. Thanks!
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Sabine Strack
on July 9, 2013Bad luck, I was very sad. But it was a great drive back to the points.
We sat in the first corner und cheered you on!Thank you for the autograph on my bag!!
Greetings from Germany! -
Tommo
on July 9, 2013Hey Mark,
what can be said that already hasnt, i share the sentiments here with the others.
When i was watching your pitsop and the others i had to remind myself this was the pinnacle of motorsport and not GP2 i was watching. i find it mind boggling these days such things can happen. those who crow on about being under presseure etc and making mistakes with pitstops. its F1, mistakes are made when you practice not on race day.
as someone mentioned here they have the opportunity of disprupting any good leads you make and psychologically must be trying at times.
fact remains, you are the team mate to the triple worlds best and are hairs lenghts away from him at times. you ar beyond good. you just needed the team support which clearly in the last race is not showing. bloody well revoered and well driven mark. all the best mate.
Tonmmo owner 49 of 50 1:2 scaled signed hemlet courtesy of MW website. -
Jezza
on July 9, 2013I hope there are some changes to make camera men and women safe, apart from possible safety gear, I think they should have a spotter so they can’t be caught like that ever again
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Mike Birks
on July 9, 20132.5 Llost in the pit stop and only 37.5 sec behinf at the finish – you do the maths !!! great drive yet again. I’m headed up to the Singapore GP TO SEE YOU WIN – all the very best for the remainder of the season – keep safe
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Sax
on July 9, 2013Great drive Mark. I wouldn’t like to think that the wheel should have come off when you were out of the pits, just to crap up your race and let the golden boy win !! Geat drive and good luck with Prosche I’m pretty sure you will be treated with the respect you deserve.
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Sasha
on July 9, 2013Amazing drive to 7th mate, got to shake your head about the wheel coming off. Funny Seb doesn’t have these issues. Good luck with Porsche mate. You are
Australia’s World Champion. -
Mark
on July 9, 2013I watched the footage over and over again on Sunday. The right rear wheel man appeared to be pretending the wheel was secure then not and then his body language was contrasting strongly with the normal stops, he was hesitant and took too long to signal it was secure. It all smelt like yesterdays garbage. I think that RB should replace or sack this bloke. He seemed to have little trouble attaching the right rear wheel to finger boys car. Maybe Horner should have given more praise to you for not telling them all to stick it after such a debacle and what you did after it.
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JT
on July 9, 2013Youre the best Thanks for being Aussie. Cheers Mate
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Simon
on July 9, 2013Mark, an amazing performance on Sunday, that was an fantastic recovery! I really hope you get a few more wins this year and get close to the championship, anything can happen in F1. Remember meeting you in Monaco in 2011 and hope to get to Singapore this year to see you off in style.
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Vini s
on July 9, 2013All things considered……awesome drive!…really looking forward to the LMP1 season 2014
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Dale
on July 10, 2013Hey Mark, greetings from Tassie. It’s Wednesday and I’m still shaking my head, thinking about the events of the German GP. I have a really good feel for who’s going to do well in a race, and this one felt like a win for you. It needed an unbelievable event to prevent it and so it was. All I can say is that, all things being equal, Vettel should still be waiting for his first July win. He’s a very lucky boy. Good luck in Hungary.
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brent
on July 10, 2013it’s not too late to join alonso in a ferrari is it mark? waive the porsche deal for a year, fernando might be no# 1 driver there but leats you’d be respected and have the team working with you..
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Petra
on July 11, 2013Hi Mark, another fantastic race! I was really close to come last minute to see
you racing at Nürburgring! Despite all the crap you were facing one more time, you proved to be the legend of awesome racing and fighting!
The disappointment and sadness were written in your face and in our hearts.
Hard to realize that this much trouble can hit one driver in one season!
The pictures of the scene ending your race early in Shanghai were still in my head. I ‘ll never ever forget that weekend in Jiading! Keep it up and go for victory in Hungary!
Our upcoming MotoGP weekend at Sachsenring will ease my pain at least a bit!
Big hug from Germany -
wassa
on July 11, 2013SSDD
same shit different day!
You can still drive the wheels off the RB, and beat the hun! -
Steve D
on July 12, 2013Amazing drive Mark, massive congrats. I have had the pleasure of watching you at the British GP for the last 3 years, one of which you whooped golden boy without the uprated front wing! Awesome! And thats coming from a brit.
When you came in for that pit stop I said to a friend something would go wrong as you would’ve come out ahead of golden boy, and there’s no way RB would have a repeat of the famous multi 21 incident as they know you wouldn’t allow that to happen again.
i believe RB planned this and it went badly wrong. it could’ve cost someone their life, where will this stop RB?? I hope an investigation will happen at some point as i believe the pit crew were ordered to delay you.
anyway, you’ll be missed in F1, good luck for the future.
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Simon
on July 12, 2013Good driving Mark, a stellar performance under the circumstances.
Horner REALLY needs to explain some major inconsistencies. All drivers encounter some type of mechanical issue on the race track during the season (Except Kimi, so it seems). What I fail to understand is why there is such a difference in the performance within the Redbull Infinite pits. It is funny these repeating issues only seem to occur when your success is detrimental to Vettel’s.
I am sure you will have much to say regarding your time at REDBULL once you retire from the sport. I am sure it will expose many truths. Cheers Mark. Give it all and don’t give up. -
Billy
on July 12, 2013Mark its always a great pleasure watching you race,you are the ultimate race driver,you have it all brother,and in the face of adversity you run 7th,are you kidding from a lap down you run 7th place,beautifull drive,pity that Red Bull saw fit to sabotage your car “again” just so the Square headed Kraut could win,Christian Horner is a disgrace,but,you can win this Championship and dont they know it brother,Schumacher was a dirty pool player too,maybe there is something in the German water.lol
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Dale
on July 14, 2013Hi Mark
I’ve been hooked on F1 since watching you bring home that Minardi in 5th.
Since then I’ve lost many hours of sleep, ripping my eyes open to watch F1 through the night. This years Silverstone was one of my favourites especially seeing Vettel’s car on the side of the track, then at the Nurburgring had a horrible feeling like never before watching the overhead view of your pitstop and sure enough it went “pear-shaped”. I am glad you are leaving RB, would be nice to see you in a Ferrari though. Next year I get my Sunday nights back for sleeping. I love your work Mark, sad to see you go!! -
Ray - Sydney NSW
on July 16, 2013I have read all the earlier comments about the last and prior race incidents. The sentiment and consensus seems to be that RBR managers are engineering ways to hold Mark back. I’ve watched a lot of F1 over time. I’ve watched Mark throughout his F1 career but I can’t believe any team in that business would intentionally hold one of their driver’s back. So, I don’t buy that,but what does perplex me is the imbalance of incidents detrimental to MW. The question for is – had these incidents occurred to SV would it have been that heads would have rolled in the RBR management and/or Pit crews before now. I think Yes. I have not heard that’s occurred. So, it’s more likely these instances are unintentional and co-incidental and regarded as such by RBR. I guest the one truism about the inconsistencies of coincidence (luck) is that it has a habit of producing an even trend over time. So best wishes Mark for the remainder of the year. And good ‘LUCK’ SV – let’s hope the vagaries of coincidence don’t trouble you into the future. RW
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Billy
on July 16, 2013Sorry Ray but I have to disagree about RBR “Not” fitting Mark up in his pitstops,its just too coincidental Ray,everytime Mark and Vettel are within one or two places to each other Mark seems to get held back,and,it would never happen to Vettel so no heads would roll,at the top or in the pit crew.But,when Mark leaves then we will find out what he thinks,and he knows,he is right up there and must be feeling pretty saddened by it all.
Billy -
Susan fm Oz
on July 18, 2013Although I commented on this site back 8th July, I want to say I agree with Billy’s comments. Too many incidents don’t add up. Mark has deserved an F1 championship, in particular 2011 or 2010. I hope Karma does play its part before the end of 2013 season. Mark’s a true sportsman, an inspiration for many around the world and a great ambassador for Australia which makes me proud. I’ve watched F1 for over 35 years and I may not continue to watch it past this season. Hope they televise Le Mans for us in Oz. Susan:)
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G.SEn
on July 23, 2013Christian Horner has no balls..he is told by SV of the race game plans without a doubt. Go for gold in Hungry Mark.
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Mark
on July 26, 2013What do people think of the FIA’s plan to punish the driver with a 10 place grid penalty for releasing a car and then a wheel comes off? Seems like a perfect excuse to keep one driver away form said finger boy. I think if they are going to punish somebody the FIA should deduct championship points from the whole team because it is a team mistake and the team should pay not the driver. Interested to hear your thoughts. Cheers
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jay
on July 29, 2013Mark,
your aise an excellent point..oon deducting team points! It should be ten points off the Constructor’s point total, then we would see a lot more care given to certain drivers. of course, the probelm never seems to happen to the German…
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