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Classic onboard - 'Multi 21' controversy explodes Red Bull tensions

28 Sep 2016

In isolation, the 'Multi 21' controversy that erupted at Malaysia in 2013 created a minor storm, with Sebastian Vettel ignoring team orders to wrest victory from team mate Mark Webber. But it also came to define the wider battle for supremacy between the pair - and within the team itself...


Vettel and Webber had already run nose to tail during the opening phases of the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix - at around mid-distance for example just half a second split Webber in the lead and Vettel in second. Neither could let up - Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were within touching distance, determined not to let the front pair escape. By lap 44 Red Bull finally had breathing space - but if they thought life was about to get easier, they were very wrong. With Webber returning from his pit stop directly ahead of Vettel, the team opted to protect their one-two and instructed Vettel not to attack via the now-infamous 'Multi 21' coded message. Vettel though had other ideas. Riding onboard with the German, we see just how close the pair came to a full-blown collision, as an incensed Webber refuses to give an inch in a fight that lasted from the main straight all the way to Turn 4...