Red Bull deny manipulation

Motor sport Formula One

Team boss Christian Horner told reporters he was astonished that double world champion Sebastian Vettel finished the season-ending race, let alone in second place, after Red Bull advised him of a gearbox problem.

The fact Vettel set a number of fastest laps after allowing Webber to go past 30 laps into the 71-lap race aroused suspicions in the media room but Horner said there had been no deception. "Of course there will always be people that have theories but categorically there was an issue," he said.

"How on earth that gearbox got to the end of the race is beyond me. Thankfully it did and Mark ended up a deserving winner.

"If anybody thinks that was concocted in any way I can absolutely hand on heart guarantee you, based on the blood pressure that was on the pit wall ... it was a genuine issue," added Horner. Webber had started second on the grid, alongside Vettel who had taken his record 15th pole of the season and was chasing a 12th win of the year.

The Australian's last victory was in Hungary in August 2010 and Red Bull were eager for him to end the year as overall runner-up but his chances looked dim until the gearbox problem surfaced.

Hamilton hugs Massa
Lewis Hamilton ended a long-running Formula One feud with Felipe Massa on Sunday by walking up to the Ferrari driver after the Brazilian GP.

"It's been a long hard year for all the drivers, and I hope they all have a good winter," McLaren's 2008 world champion said. "It was good to have a nice chat with Felipe after the race. I have great respect for him and I'm already looking forward to racing him again next year."

Massa welcomed the gesture: "I was pleased that Lewis came around to see me...it was a very nice gesture on his part," he said.

Hamilton and Massa have had a magnetic attraction on the track this season, colliding six times — most recently in Indian Grand Prix last month — and ending up barely on speaking terms.