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[LewEngBridewell]

Time for Lew's thoughts on the race.

Despite Alonso's retirement, Hamilton entering the McLaren pit, another self-induced retirement for Maldonado, and Button's disastrous stop, this race will be remembered for intense politics.

A shame Merc didn't allow their boys to race, Lewis would've been fully co-operational with Nico, just as he was with Jenson in his McLaren days, when they were allowed to race each other. Nico's "REMEMBER TODAY" is an ominous statement, and if such emotions raise their head later in the season, could have very interesting consequences.

But Red Bull surely take the spotlight. They took the spotlight away from what was an excellent on-track battle between Seb and Mark, which had my heart going nuts all through the wheel-to-wheel mastery. For me, it's mixed emotions. We, the fans, wish to see good racing, which is what we got, when Seb disobeyed the team. But we also understand (well, most of us, anyway) that it is a team sport, and the best interests of the team must be preserved.

So while Seb surely made the race much more exciting that it WOULD have been, had RBR's desires been fulfilled, he clearly showed himself to be a poor team player. Who remembers the British Grand Prix of 2011, when Mark was right behind Seb, and looking to pass. Seb radio'd in, saying "Just be wise, guys, just be wise". What a jerk he appears now, when, in the reverse situation, he went against all instruction.

I don't know what to say other than that really. Good on him for giving us great action, and bad on him for being such a turncoat. It's what happens when the passion runs high, I guess.

What a shame McLaren and Williams aren't at the front! THEY let their guys race with no fuss!

[andrew]

It's a race, not a follow the leader contest.

[RyRy]

It's a race, not a follow the leader contest.

Timo Glock would disagree lol

[LewEngBridewell]

It's a race, not a follow the leader contest.

So, you understand how bitter Webber is, after events like Silverstone '11?

[andrew]

It's a race, not a follow the leader contest.

So, you understand how bitter Webber is, after events like Silverstone '11?

I understand he's pissed off but it's a race and these are competitive guys.

It's a race, not a follow the leader contest.

Timo Glock would disagree lol

Aye but he sold his soul and lok where his F1 career went.

[FaultyDRS]

Vettle will go unpunished and the team will put pressure on Webber to forgive and forget. I don't believe that "i misunderstood excuse" he knew what he was doing and knew the team will do nothing. People saying it was fair seem to forget that the reason Vettle was so close was because they pitted Vettle first, usually the leading driver gets to pit first and gets the advantage of the undercut.

[LewEngBridewell]

Love Hemlut Marko's ridiculous comment on the BBC: (With regards to Vettel DISOBEYING team orders to keep Webber in front) "At least it shows we are not like Mercedes".

Hahaha what a tosser, who does he think he's fooling?

[1Lemon]

It's a race, not a follow the leader contest.

But at the same time, it's a team sport. I totally feel for Mark and to be honest, Vettle's win at all costs attitude has lowered my opinion of him significantly, the way he dealt with the press was shocking too "I didn't ignore the call or overtake him deliberately, I just did and I didn't see anything wrong in doing that". That's like saying "I didn't want a cup of tea so I made myself some tea and drank it"...

Interesting quote from Mark "In some teams to have a one car team is the ideal scenario" and I just wonder what is going to happen at Red Bull when the wonder boy goes from cheeky to disrespectful.

Other than that the race was good, I have respect for Hamilton and Rosberg, Hamilton has no reason to apologise as it was a team decision to keep Rosberg behind.

Force India has a lot of work to do, I was all excited about how well Di Resta and Sutil were doing, they seem to have a very strong car this season.

McLaren are better, not quite there, but improvements in one week, now they have 3 so let's see how it goes and stop all the speculating that they are a dead team, Ferrari started badly last year too.

Alonso was unlucky, but it's about time, Massa was looking strong but that car seems to lack race pace.

Torro Rosso have improved under James Key's car design, their looking strong again apart from a few hiccups I can see them forcing their way up the pack.

Williams need to improve else I will have to buy LRW a pint...

Bianchi is one to keep an eye on in the future, he's consistently(Only 2 races, so that's a relative term) the fastest of all the back markers, and I do like the sound of Hekki going back to Caterham.

Finally Sauber have taken a step back this year and need to kick it into gear to improve a bit, they can do it and they will, just it may have to wait another season before their pestering the front runners again.

[andrew]

Love Hemlut Marko's ridiculous comment on the BBC: (With regards to Vettel DISOBEYING team orders to keep Webber in front) "At least it shows we are not like Mercedes".

Hahaha what a tosser, who does he think he's fooling?

I think it was more a case of he didn't know what to say. He looked pretty surprised by the question.
__________________________________

Christian Horner: Sebastian Vettel was wrong to ignore team orders in Malaysia

Christian Horner has said Sebastian Vettel was wrong to ignore team orders at the Malaysian Grand Prix but claimed there was "no point" in asking him to hand the lead of Sunday's race back to Mark Webber.

Tensions between the pair, that have simmered ever since they collided in the 2010 Turkish GP, boiled over at Sepang when Vettel, who had lost out to his team-mate in a duel for the lead after Webber made his final pit stop, ignored a subsequent order to 'hold station' and passed the Australian.

Horner was heard over the team's radio saying, "Don't be silly Seb" but the defending World Champion ignored him and pressed onwards to the chequered flag.

With Lewis Hamilton - whose own team-mate Nico Rosberg obeyed Mercedes team orders to stay behind despite being faster in the closing stages - completing the top three, quite possibly the most stony-faced podium ceremony of recent times duly followed.

Vettel later apologised for his actions and Horner said the matter was being dealt with internally. "It wasn't right, what he did," Red Bull's Team Principal said. "He accepts that. I think he's clearly said if he could wind the clocks back he wouldn't do it again.

"He felt that he hadn't heard the call and that it was unclear to him what the instruction was.

"It's the type of thing we talk about behind closed doors. He and I have had the discussion already. Taking the emotion out of and with time to reflect, we'll have (another) discussion."

The order came as a result of concerns Red Bull had about tyre wear. Vettel had struggled with his tyres during the Australian Grand Prix last week and Horner said the team were surprised to find themselves running one-two in what is the most sapping race of the season.

"When that last pit stop was complete, Mark was ahead - it was very close on pit exit. As far as we were concerned, it was a matter of managing the tyres to the end of race," he said.

"The tyres we've obviously been marginal with all weekend and the instruction was given to both cars to effectively hold position.

"Following cars closely destroys tyres. We know we've been marginal and what we didn't want to do was find that we'd ran out of tyres and take an unnecessary risk.

"At that point, Sebastian has obviously chosen to ignore that."

That Vettel chose his course of action once again underlines the contradiction that lies at the heart of F1: a team sport but one whose main focus is on competitors who aren't necessarily very good at being team players.

Another maxim is that the best drivers have a particular tendency towards selfishness. If that's so, then the fact that Vettel is the sport's youngest ever triple World Champion makes his actions seem less than surprising.

For Horner, though, it was the occasional, inevitable, result of signing two fiercely competitive drivers.

"We employ these guys because they are competitive, because they do push each other, because they are very driven individuals. If either was submissive to the other, it's not what we want in a racing driver," he said.

"He's obviously chosen to hear what he wants to hear. He's a race driver, he's competitive; he's hungry. He hasn't achieved the Championships that he has by not pushing the limits. He's pushed that today with his team-mate and with the team.

"Do you honestly think if we'd told him to slow down and give the place back, he'd given it back? There's no point. He'd made it quite clear what his intention was by making the move.

"He put his interests beyond what the team's position was: he was focused on that eight-point difference between second and first place, which was wrong.

"He's accepted it was wrong. From a team perspective, F1 is a team sport. But there's also a Drivers' Championship as well and sometimes you end up in conflict.

"These situations have happened previously and no doubt they will happen again in the future."

Horner pointed out that Webber too has form. "If you think of Brazil at the last race (of 2012) Mark was told to hold position and he started racing him! They're race drivers; they will push to the limit. That's part of what their DNA is and that's why we sign them.

"It's the same up and down the pit lane. It's where you have a conflict between a driver who is contracted to the team, whose main interest is the Drivers' Championship, and the team's position which puts extreme value on the Constructors' World Championship."

Horner also played down the suggestion that Webber, who said after the race that he was "thinking many, many things" during the closing laps, was considering his future at the team.

"In the heat of the moment, there's always going to be emotion," he added. "But both of them have just sat in a debrief, both of them have talked very constructively about the car and focused on where we need to improve and where we need to be better for the next race.

"Of course it'll take time to calm down. But what's done is done and we can't change that. The team's position was clear.

"The team didn't manipulate any situation, there was no conspiracy, so why he needs to be thinking about his future, or anything like that, is just pure emotion.".

[madbrad]

Lew you called it a race when you spoke of Hammy letting Britney past. It would not be a race, it would just be Hammy letting Britney past.

[andrew]

Yeah, you're all for Rosberg obeying team orders and not racing then you lambast Vettel for doing exactly what you wanted to see - a good bit of close and exciting racing. It's not often we disagree Lew but I see a bit of a double standard here.

[LewEngBridewell]

Lew you called it a race when you spoke of Hammy letting Britney past. It would not be a race, it would just be Hammy letting Britney past.

Well, I doubt he would've just "let" him past, but given the circumstances he was under, I suppose it may well have been as good as, yeah. Fair point.

andrew, if you actually read my post, I'm at a loss as to what conclusion to form from the situation at RBR. In disobeying the team, he gave us great racing. But also, his "be wise" comments in the reverse situation back in 2011 make him look a little...well, as you put it, someone who has double standards

[1Lemon]

Yeah, you're all for Rosberg obeying team orders and not racing then you lambast Vettel for doing exactly what you wanted to see - a good bit of close and exciting racing. It's not often we disagree Lew but I see a bit of a double standard here.

You realise that his argument is perfectly logical, lew is saying that both should obey team orders in their situations.

[andrew]

Regardless of the ethics of it, I'm glad Vettel disobeyed team orders 'cos it was a fantastic scrap they had.

[LewEngBridewell]

Regardless of the ethics of it, I'm glad Vettel disobeyed team orders 'cos it was a fantastic scrap they had.

They did indeed have a good scrap. I'm also glad he did it. It was a very naturally human thing to do, and it would've been tempting for all of us to do it in such a situation.

We got a good race, and we now have some intense politics bubbling. I love it!