Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - After a season of tension and sometimes bitter rivalry within his team, Red Bull boss Christian Horner on Monday warmly praised both of his drivers for their sporting behavior after Sebastian Vettel had beaten Mark Webber to win the drivers’ world title.
The 23-year-old German triumphed in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to take the title in dramatic fashion as Australian Webber finished eighth, Vettel being crowned as the sport’s youngest champion.
The champagne soaked team chief, a cautious and methodical man whose team partied late into the night, said: “To have done it the right way, to have won it on the circuit, I am just delighted with the way that Sebastian drove in this race.
“The fact that we did it without team orders, the fact that at the end of the day the best guy won it — that’s the way it should be.”
Horner also removed all doubts about Webber’s future when he said that the 34-year-old Australian would be back for another tilt at the title with the Red Bull team next year.
“Mark is a big part of our team, he is a tremendous driver and he will have another chance next year,” Horner said.
The team’s driver’s and constructor’s titles capped a memorable year for the Milton Keynes-based team and also supplied an ethical triumph for the sport.
There had been fears that two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso could have won the title for Ferrari who at the German Grand Prix had used team orders, which are banned.
On Sunday, by using defensive tactics to cover a possible threat from Australian Webber, they ended up wrecking their own prospects as Alonso was unable to recover from an unnecessary early pit stop and finished just seventh.
It signaled that in a fresh new era led by the younger champions, there is a new fresh morality sweeping through the sport.
Vettel had started the last race of the season 15 points behind Alonso and eight behind Webber.
He knew he had to win and hope for the best, recalling Kimi Raikkonen’s incredible comeback for Ferrari from 17 points down with two races remaining,
“I didn’t know anything until I crossed the checkered flag,” Vettel said.
“The last 10 laps I was wondering as my race engineer, every lap, was trying to give some advice and trying to help me carry the car home. I was thinking ‘Why is this guy nervous? We must be in a bloody good position.’ ”
“I just wanted to make sure, not get any distraction, just focus on myself. Then he came on the radio and screams at me that we have won the world championship,” he said.
Growing up in the era of Michael Schumacher, Vettel is steeped in Formula One. He watched as a kid and has a strong sense of its history.
“I was actually thinking about Kimi’s situation today,” Vettel said. “I think it was a little bit of a similar situation.
Meanwhile, Alonso defended his team’s strategy of calling him in for an early pit stop after he finished only seventh in Abu Dhabi.
The Spaniard, who went into the race as the series leader, could not fight back from his mid-field position to score enough points to make an impact.
“After the race, it is always very easy to see the best strategy,” Alonso said.
“This is a sport. This is motor racing. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.”
Reuters, AFP