Reigning world Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel insists he made a mistake and wouldn’t do it again after disobeying team orders and overtaking team-mate Mark Webber to earn victory in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
The German ignored Red Bull team orders as he decided to overtake Webber in a risky move late in the race when they held the top two positions in Sepang.
Vettel’s decision caused outrage from his team-mate and the German apologised immediately after the race, claiming he didn’t hear the message despite it being a known team rule.
“I cannot say much more than I did a mistake, I’m not proud I did it. If I had the chance to do it again I would do it differently,” Vettel said.
He added: “When I came back I saw the team’s reaction and I had a short word with Mark, it hit me quite hard that I f***ed up.”
‘‘I would love to come up with a nice story but I can’t. That’s the truth.’’
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was clearly unimpressed with Vettel’s decision to pass Webber, who has previously had a tense relationship with the German.
“Sebastian decided to take things into his own hands today and race Mark, thankfully making a clean pass and switching the order to the flag,” he said.
“Formula one is both a team and an individual sport and sometimes there is a conflict between a driver’s desire and a team’s interest. What happened today is something that shouldn’t have happened.”