“Sebastian Vettel apologized on the podium, which is easy to do, isn’t it?": Mark Webber looks back at the infamous Multi-21 incident

Mark Webber has recently touched upon the infamous multi-21 incident from the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix. It was the race that allegedly worsened the relationship between him and Sebastian Vettel, and now, over a decade later, Webber looked at the team order saga.

Coming into 2024, reports around team orders in McLaren engrossed the headlines on multiple occasions. However, the incident from 2013 saw Vettel disobey the team order and attack Webber for the race lead.

Multi-21 was Red Bull's special code during races, where Sebastian Vettel drove car number one, and Webber number two. Multi-21 meant the drivers should hold position with two in front of one (Webber in front of Vettel.) But the then-three-time F1 champion had other ideas.

Despite team principal Christian Horner's call on the radio, the German former driver went on to attack the Australian and eventually took the lead at Sepang. This left Webber furious as he sarcastically said on the radio, "That's good teamwork."

Now, years later, the former Red Bull man talked about it in the recent "Formula For Success" podcast episode, where Webber revealed that Vettel apologized to him on the podium of the Malaysian GP. He said (as quoted by "PlanetF1"):

"Seb apologised on the podium, which is easy to do, isn’t it? So I think at the time, his instinct, helmet on, we’ve all been there where sometimes the helmet, when it’s on, you just go into… you are in fighter mode, and you want to get the bloody job done for yourself," Webber said.

"And the selfishness actually does have a big chance of rolling into your performance and executing the race. So in that one, bizarrely, we were on the ropes. Massively on the ropes," he added.

By the end of that year, Mark Webber left the Austrian team. Horner and Company brought fellow Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo as a replacement.

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Sebastian Vettel 'lost all respect' for Mark Webber following the 2013 Malaysian GP podium

Sebastian Vettel of Infiniti Red Bull Racing celebrates at the podium. Source: Getty Images

Mark Webber was one angry man at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix podium, and his words during the interview made Sebastian Vettel lose all respect for him. In the interview, Webber said that despite the action, Vettel would have protection from Red Bull.

"The ensuing conversation was the most disappointing moment of our entire relationship. He said he was pissed off by what I had said on the podium in Malaysia, that while he respected me as a driver he had no respect for me as a person," Webber said.

Despite 11 years of that fateful incident, it remains one of the most controversial Red Bull races.