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Horner adamant feud is over

ESPN Staff
April 4, 2013 « Red Bull claims new pit stop record | Force India taking 'intelligent' approach to car development »
Mark Webber was furious at Sebastian Vettel after the race © Getty Images
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Red Bull boss Christian Horner insists the rift between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel has been dealt with and that his drivers will now work together to push the team forward.

Vettel incurred the wrath of Webber at the Malaysian Grand Prix when he deliberately ignored a team order and overtook his team-mate for the lead. Horner made clear that the team would deal with the problem internally and now says the visible animosity between the two on the podium has cooled down.

"It's been dealt with, they've been spoken to and they know what the objectives of the team are," he told Sky Sports.

ESPN Comment

  • Despite Christian Horner's insistence that everything is rosy in the Red Bull camp, he cannot escape the fact that this is the latest - and perhaps most bitter - chapter in a long feud between his two drivers. We saw a similar PR drive after the clash at the 2010 Turkish GP, but later that year in Brazil Mark Webber let his true feelings know when he said he felt Red Bull was giving more support to Vettel. Webber has been in Australia since the last race, and watching the way Red Bull has dealt with the issue in the press he may well feel that the same is true this year. Even if Horner does think he has the issue settled, the true feelings of his drivers will be best expressed when the two cars next find themselves wheel-to-wheel on the track. It's not over yet.
    Laurence Edmondson
"Both know what the team's views were of Malaysia. It is something that has been discussed, something that has been addressed. They know the real opponents sit outside of the team, not inside the team. All the success we have achieved has come working as a group, as a unit, and that will continue."

It is not the first time Webber and Vettel have fallen out over an on-track incident, but Horner insists the rivalry between the two is healthy for the team.

"Yes, there will be competition," he added. "I don't expect them to be spending Christmas together or anything like that. But they are professional individuals who will work to ensure we keep moving forward.

"They will feed off each other, push each other, and ultimately that brings the best out of them. Sebastian brings the best out of Mark, and Mark brings the best out of Sebastian because they push each other so hard."

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