Horner hits out at Berger claim

London: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has dismissed as "ridiculous" comments made by Gerhard Berger alleging that Mark Webber intentionally tried to take Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso out of Sunday's Korean Grand Prix.

Webber lost his championship lead at the Yeongam circuit after losing control of his Red Bull in treacherous conditions.

Having clipped the wall, the Australian's car collected Nico Rosberg's Mercedes as it rebounded off the barrier.

Ferrari's Alonso had managed to dodge past the Red Bull moments earlier.

Although Webber held his hands up, admitting the crash was "totally my fault", former grand prix driver Berger suggested to Austrian television that there was something sinister about the incident.

"He could have hit the brakes and stopped the car at the wall," said Berger, a former co-owner of Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso.

"He took out Rosberg, but it was the wrong one. I think in his mind he would have preferred Alonso or Hamilton."

When asked if he thought Webber took someone out intentionally, Berger answered: "Yes, it's clear.

"He goes off and it's over. It's so frustrating and a thousand thoughts go through your mind.

"It's very obvious. You can see his wheels are not locked up. Perhaps he had a brake problem, but I don't think so. One has the feeling that you would rather take one with you, take a point off him."

Rosberg was also upset by Webber's failure to apply the brakes.

Following the race, he sent a message to his Twitter followers: "Sucks! Don't understand why Webber didn't hit the brakes. Was crazy (evidently) 2 roll back over the track." [sic]

However, Horner said that Webber had just been trying to keep his race alive and that to suggest otherwise was absurd.

Wall impact

"As with every incident in Formula One, opinions will always be made without all of the facts," Horner 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."

Alonso leads the championship by 11 points from Webber going into the final two races of the year in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Max Mosley has told The Daily Telegraph that he suspects Bernie Ecclestone secretly has a succession plan in place.

The former FIA president is one of a number of influential figures in the sport who have paid tribute to Formula One's commercial rights holder, who turns 80 today.