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| The Renault-powered cars' recurring alternator failures has been a cause for concern but the team is confident of resolving the issues before the next race in Brazil |
Red Bull and Renault will be working flat out to ensure Formula One championship leader
Sebastian Vettel does not go into next weekend's title showdown in Brazil with a 'ticking
time bomb' deep inside his car. Vettel leads Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 13 points
ahead of the final round at Interlagos after finishing runner-up to McLaren's Lewis
Hamilton in Sunday's US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
While Red Bull clinched their third constructors' title in a row, the celebrations were
muted by Vettel being denied his third successive crown for at least another week and
reliability problems affecting Australian team mate Mark Webber. "Reliability is a
concern, it's unfortunately our third alternator failure this year which is a ticking time
bomb," Red Bull's technical head Adrian Newey told Britain's Sky television.
"You never know when that one is going to strike. Renault haven't managed to find a
proper solution to that one so that's a continual worry in the back of our minds as is the
rest of the reliability. The cars are very complicated and keeping them going around
is anything but guaranteed." Webber pulled over after his car's alternator failed, a
recurring problem for the Renault-powered team this season, while he was running in third
place at the Circuit of the Americas.
A similar failure halted Vettel at the European Grand Prix in Valencia while he was
leading and the 25-year-old German also suffered alternator problems at Monza in Italy
when he stopped six laps from the end. Other Renault-powered teams have had
reliability problems and the manufacturer made new specification alternators available for
the race in Austin.
With so much at stake, Red Bull stuck with the type they had used since Monza without
trouble only for Webber to pay the price. "We had low battery voltage for a few laps
before and then I lost gearbox sync and KERS, something was happening on the battery
side," said the Australian.
Team principal Christian Horner hoped they would have the new version for Brazil and
Vettel was confident his team would resolve the issue. "I think we've managed the
last couple of races pretty well so I'm sure it should be easy to explain, to find the
problem," said the driver after the race. "After Monza, I think we learned the lesson
and we should be prepared enough for next week."
Alonso, who finished third on Sunday in a Ferrari that has been one of the most
reliable cars on the grid, recognised Red Bull's weak spot and was hopeful that it might
be Vettel's turn to be vulnerable in Brazil.
"We saw today again that Webber retired, sometimes it is the alternator, sometimes it's
the KERS, sometimes it's the brakes. It always happens to that car so maybe in Brazil it
changes cars," said the Spaniard. Vettel will win the title in Brazil if he finishes
fourth or higher, regardless of what Alonso does.
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