Wing decision risks Red Bull harmony - McLaren

Martin Whitmarsh has chimed in on the tension at Red Bull by insisting the same situation would not occur at McLaren.

Mark Webber was obviously angry after qualifying the sister RB6 at Silverstone, with his new front wing given to pole sitter Sebastian Vettel after the young German’s broke in morning practice.

Boss Christian Horner said the decision was based on Vettel’s higher position in the world championship and better pace at Silverstone, surmising that giving both drivers the older specification wing would have "hurt the whole team".

But Whitmarsh, boss of the rival McLaren team, indicated that he would not give just one driver a single new component.

"This weekend we were pushing very hard to bring forward this new floor, and we decided that if there was only one we would not use it for this race," he told reporters.

"I think the cohesiveness of the team is such that you don’t need to set up those sort of tensions."

Last year, Lewis Hamilton was given a single car upgrade ahead of his then teammate Heikki Kovalainen, and Whitmarsh said he felt "deeply uncomfortable" about it.

In Red Bull’s position, with Australian Webber clearly feeling he is being ’stitched up’ in Vettel’s favour, Whitmarsh suggested that the decision taken by Horner on Saturday was wrong.

"In those circumstances it is to the detriment to the overall performance of the team, and certainly the individual who feels he is being stitched up - to use your expression," he said.

When also asked about Saturday’s incident, Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn joked: "I think they should have given the wing to us!"