Reigning Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel apologised yafter blatantly disregarding Red Bull team orders to claim a controversial Malaysian Grand Prix victory.
Mark Webber held sway over team-mate Vettel following the fourth and final pit stop and at that point the call went out to the duo to hold station to the chequered flag.
Vettel, however, had other ideas and instead went wheel to wheel with Webber for more than a lap, even ignoring a call from frustrated team principal Christian Horner, who said: “This is silly Seb. Come on!”
Despite that warning, 25-year-old Vettel bulldozed his way past Webber to triumph for the 27th time in his F1 career.
It was reminiscent of German compatriot Michael Schumacher at his most callous as the seven-times world champion earned renown for his underhand tactics, along with his brilliant driving.
The friction that followed between Webber and Vettel in the green room, where the drivers cool down post race before taking to the podium, and in the interview on the podium, was palpable.
Vettel initially described it as “a tight battle”, admitting he was perhaps “too keen too soon” with his move on Webber given the tyre strategies of the duo, but did not appear to regret anything he had done.
Webber, however, pulled no punches, saying: “Seb made his own decision and will have protection, and that’s the way it goes.”
By the time the pair reached the main press conference room several minutes later, Vettel decided to show remorse for his actions.
“As you can see I’m not entirely happy. I think I made a big mistake today,” said Vettel.
“I think we should have stayed in the positions we were. I didn’t ignore it on purpose, but I messed up in that situation and obviously took the lead.
“I can see now he (Webber) is upset, but yeah, I at least want to be honest and stick to the truth and apologise. I know it doesn’t really help his feelings right now, but I should have behaved better.
“As I’ve said, I didn’t do it deliberately. I didn’t realise I had made a mistake. It was only when I came back and saw the team’s reaction I realised.”
After the podium ceremony there was clear friction between Vettel and Webber,the latter of whom was far from happy. Vettel later issued an apology to Webber as he said: “I want to say sorry to Mark.
“He was trying to save the car and tyres, but I took a lot of risk in passing him when he was trying. I didn’t ignore that, but I shouldn’t have done it.”
As for Webber, he typically pulled no punches. “The first part of GP went very well,” he said.
“In the end we got the right strategy, and it was about controlling the race, getting everything in the race right, but the team told me to turn the engine down.
“But I want to race as well. Seb made his own decisions and he will have protection as usual and that’s the way it goes.”