Red Bull plans to hold further talks with Sebastian Vettel following his defiant ignoring of team orders in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Vettel disregarded an instruction from the pit wall for him to hold position behind Mark Webber in the closing stages of the race at Sepang, going on to take the victory ahead of the Australian.
AUTOSPORT has learned that Webber was so infuriated by Vettel’s actions that he initially did not wish to take part in the podium ceremony, but he was eventually convinced to do so.
Although Vettel apologised for his actions – following a heated exchange with Webber both before and after the podium – the matter has opened up fresh tensions between the two drivers at Red Bull.
Team principal Christian Horner sat down with both drivers on Sunday night in Malaysia to vent his own frustration at the situation, but he wants further talks with Vettel to discuss where the matter goes from here.
When asked if it was possible sanctions could be taken against Vettel, Horner said: “It is type of thing that we talk about behind closed doors.
“He and I have had a discussion already and, taking the emotion out of it with time to reflect, we will have a discussion before the next race.”
The Malaysian GP incident is not the first time that Webber and Vettel have come to blows. The pair famously collided at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix and then came to blows over the use of a front wing at the British GP later that year.
Although drivers so blatantly ignoring team orders is rare, Horner said he did not believe the trust between Vettel and Webber was now totally broken.
“Let’s be honest here,” he said. “There has never been a great deal of trust between the two of them since Istanbul in 2010.
“But there is a respect and a real respect between the two of them. If you think of Brazil at the last race, Mark was told to hold position and started racing him. Now, these things happen.
“They are race drivers and they will push to the limit. That is part of what their DNA is.
“That is why we sign them to do the job that they do, and why they have performed as well as a pairing for the last five years.”
