“Seb fell asleep behind the safety car!” – Sebastian Vettel’s former teammate at Red Bull explains how the former world champion “struggled to drive slowly”

Ex-F1 driver Mark Webber believes he won the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest because his team-mate Sebastian Vettel was napping at the Safety Car restart. The Australian revealed his experience of being a four-time world champion’s team-mate at his former team Red Bull F1 and some of the German’s rare positives and flaws.

Describing his experience with Vettel to Formel Austria, Webber said:

“During the safety car periods, he hit the DRS board once, shooting me down and also killing Lewis Hamilton. I think he’s having trouble driving slowly. I think I won in Budapest in 2010 because he fell asleep at the restart. He received a penalty for not being close enough to the safety car.”

According to Webber, the German liked a perfect weekend without disruptions and often failed at restarts after a safety car period. The Australian, who partnered with Vettel from 2010 to 2013, revealed the German often received assistance from his engineers at race restarts, despite ebbing as a driver who overanalyzed situations.

Explaining Sebastian Vettel’s demeanor during a safety car period, Webber said:

“Seb never liked it when the weekend was disrupted, for example when it rained on Friday. From my point of view, he sometimes analyzed everything too much. Fascinatingly, despite the amount of mind management Seb could handle, Rocky (race engineer Guillaume Rocquellin) always had to help him through safety car situations.”

Webber believes the four-time world champion was often over-analytical about situations during a race. Although the German won four titles when he partnered with the Australian, the former's racing style and race management ways have changed over the years.

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Mark Webber believes Sebastian Vettel superior to him in many ways

Praising the four-time world champion during his tenure at Red Bull F1, Mark Webber believes he was often outclassed by the German’s unique racing skills in many areas. Admitting his own flaws, the Australian revealed he had more of them than the German when it came to their skillset. Apart from the safety car restart, Webber mentioned that Sebastian Vettel initially struggled to execute a proper entry into the pitlane.

Revealing the German’s rare flaw and praising his other qualities, Webber said:

“He wasn’t good entering the pits either. But I had many more weaknesses than him. He had many amazing qualities and could kick my butt in so many other areas.”

The German and the Australian often clashed on the track. Fractures in their relationship were on display at the 2010 Turkish GP and when the Red Bull champion disobeyed team orders in Malaysia in 2013. While the Australian retired after the 2013 season, the four-time world champion continued to race in F1 with Ferrari and is currently with Aston Martin Racing.