27/10/2010
NEWS STORY
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has dismissed Gerhard Berger's claim that Mark Webber attempted to take out one of his championship rivals during Sunday's Korean Grand Prix.
Former F1 winner and Toro Rosso boss Berger yesterday told Austrian TV station Servus TV: "He took out Rosberg, but it was the wrong one. I think in his mind he would have preferred Alonso or Hamilton."
While some have dismissed Berger's claims as a wind-up, brain fade or even sour grapes, Horner was quick to jump to his driver's defence.
"As with every incident in Formula One, opinions will always be made without all the facts," he told the Daily Telegraph. "Just to be absolutely clear, Mark's intention was not to take out another driver after his crash in the Korean Grand Prix and it's ridiculous to suggest otherwise.
"After Mark's impact with the wall, it was clear on the TV and from the data that his car was badly damaged. However, the natural and immediate instinct of any competitive driver is not to give up and to keep going.
"In the atrocious conditions, Mark made the snap decision to continue as every driver would in that situation - it's absurd to suggest that Mark would ever deliberately take out another driver. Mark accepted immediate blame for this incident, which in itself deserves credit."
Claims that Berger believes Webber somehow nobbled Sebastian Vettel's engine thus far remain unsubstantiated.