Photo by: XPB Images
Despite Sebastian Vettel's recent success and his continuing dominance, Red Bull chiefs were a little unhappy with the back to back champion in India.
Bild newspaper reports that both team boss Christian Horner and Red Bull consultant Dr Helmut Marko publicly and privately chided the 24-year-old for insisting upon charging for the fastest race lap.
"He knows that we do not like that," confirmed Horner.
Italy's Corriere della Sera wondered if Vettel is simply seeking motivation: "He no longer fights against his competitors but against the records."
But Marko insisted: "It was not the time to do an unnecessary risk. We said it to him but sometimes he does not listen."
Former driver and Austrian ORF television pundit Alex Wurz has a theory about why Red Bull is so sensitive about Vettel's fastest-lap fetish.
It was not the time to do an unnecessary risk
"They don't worry he is going to crash," said the former Benetton and Williams driver, "they worry that the other teams will be alarmed at the performance and go to the FIA to complain that the car must be illegal.
"I see it more as a political anxiety than a sporting one," added Wurz.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
F1 teams should register young driver deals to avoid “wild west” - Wurz
Gallery: All Williams F1 cars since 1978
Perez: Red Bull can be more resilient to graining after Melbourne
Red Bull says it can't match "very lucrative" Audi F1 offer to Sainz
The ironic reason Newey thinks Red Bull hasn't been caught in F1 yet
Mercedes joins Williams and RB with 'quick and cheap' F1 cockpit airflow upgrades
Alpine gets F1 spare car for first time as lighter chassis appears
Supercars Taupo: Mostert leads Ford 1-2-3 in opening practice
F1 Chinese GP: Stroll leads FP1 as small fire causes early red flag
Why F1 2026 worst-case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments