Tensions have boiled over at Sydney Motorsport Park, as Kiwi ace Shane Van Gisbergen clashed with Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup during the latest Supercars Championship round.
With nine laps remaining in the third race of the weekend, Whincup twice ran the competition leader off the track, as he tried to pass into second place, behind eventual winner Will Brown of Erebus Racing.
Even after he was instructed let Van Gisbergen past in pursuit of Brown, Whincup refused to yield and ultimately held on for second, with the Kiwi third, but their antics made them the laughing stock of their rivals.
"It's great to see that Red Bull don't work together," trumpeted Erebus chief executive Barry Ryan. "To hear what was going on in their garage, I was just laughing."
Van Gisbergen was quick to congratulate Brown, 23, who achieved his maiden victory on the Supercars circuit, but was measured on the clash with his teammate.
"It was a tough one," he said. "It was obviously entertaining, but I felt like we lost the chance at a race win.
"It wasn't that good. At one point, I was enjoying the battle, but also I'm thinking, 'We've got to win this race'."
Seven-time champion Whincup, 38, will retired after this season, but is obviously in no mood to make way for his successors just yet.
"I've only got a couple of races left, so I'm not giving any of them away," he said. "Dog eat dog."
The real conversation likely took place afterwards behind closed doors.
Red Bull team manager Mark Dutton admitted the conflict was not ideal.
"From the garage, we saw it one way, but in the cockpit, it was seen another way. We'll debrief that, and have a chat about which was the right way and which was the wrong way.
"It's probably pretty obvious, but we'll discuss it."
Asked if team owner Roland Dane had weighed in, Dutton laughed: "I think I was fired during the race, I'll have to confirm that."
Further complicating the situation, Dane will step down from his ownership role after this season, handing the reins to Whincup, which puts Dutton in a very invidious position, trying to instruct his future boss out on the track.
The result saw Whincup trim Van Gisbergen's competition lead to 343 points, with a fourth consecutive round at the same venue, after COVID-19 disruptions to the race calendar.
