Red Bull’s Formula One team should be thrilled: the Malaysian Grand Prix brought the team a 1–2 finish and another win, the 27th, for wunderkind Sebastian Vettel.
Instead the team is on the verge of splitting, and de facto Number Two driver Mark Webber ponders whether he can put up with Sebastian Vettel essentially stealing a win from him.
Webber led through most of the race, earning the win. After the last pit stop, the team told both drivers to hold position and save fuel, which would have given Webber his first win of the season
Though Red Bull claims both its drivers are equal, it is obvious to any casual observer that the team favors Sebastian Vettel, and why shouldn’t they? At 25 he is the youngest three-time consecutive world champion in history, and probably has a decade of first-rate performances ahead of him, while Mark Webber, 36, is probably in the last few years of his F1 career.
Still Red Bull has a team rule: whoever is in the lead after the last pit stop of a race gets to stay in front. The team doesn’t want its drivers tearing up their cars, or hitting each other (a la Turkey 2010) and losing both cars.
This time however, Sebastian Vettel “made a mistake,” he claims. He somehow misinterpreted standing team rules and directly stated team orders and instead fought his way past Webber in some exciting—and dangerous—wheel-to-wheel racing. Undoubtedly fans appreciated the show; undoubtedly Red Bull Team Principal Chris Horner was gnashing his teeth and tearing his hair, both from fear of a wreck and anger at his orders being defied.
Webber, on cold tires, gave way, letting Vettel have the win, and Red Bull earned its 1–2 finish. But after he race Webber said he needed to get away to think about his future.
