Sebastian Vettel won but apologised to Mark Webber for winning by 'mistake'

SEBASTIAN Vettel pulled no punches Sunday in a grovelling apology for unfairly overtaking Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber to win the Malaysian Grand Prix, bluntly admitting: "I f...ed up.''

During a tense press conference featuring both team-mate drivers, this frank statement did little to appease the emotional Mark Webber, who led into the closing stages and had been told by his team that he could cruise to victory with Vettel second. Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders and plunged past his team-mate with a risky overtaking, snatching his 27th grand prix and denying Webber his 10th. The Formula One champion, Sebastian Vettel, apologised to Mark Webber, his Red Bull team-mate after ignoring orders and snatching a Malaysian Grand Prix victory. "I cannot say much more than I did a mistake, I'm not proud I did it. If I had the chance to do it again I would do it differently, " Vettel said. He added: "When I came back I saw the team's reaction and I had a short word with Mark, it hit me quite hard that,  I f...ed up.'' Team Principal says that "issues will be solved internally". "I am the black sheep right now … all I can say is apologies to Mark," the German said after a win that gave Red Bull a one-two finish and him the lead in the championship after two races. "The pass was deliberate, obviously I wanted to pass him … but I didn't mean to ignore the strategy or the call. I made a mistake, simply." Webber had driven a masterful race to climb into the lead from fifth on the grid, and was told by his team to ease off in the closing stages to protect the car and tyres as he led Vettel and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Vettel appeared ready to soak up the criticism. "I am not really too worried, I don't really care about the criticism that is coming up now. I owe an explanation to Mark and the team. And that's it," he said. "Everyone else obviously has the right to have their own opinions but for sure it is not a victory that I am very proud of because it should have been Mark's."

But Vettel, Formula One's youngest ever three-time world champion at 25, said that if given the chance he would make amends by handing a victory to Webber.

For Webber his team-mate's behaviour was galling as Vettel, who won the last three world championships, was galling after orders were issued over the team radio. "The team rang up and said the pressure is off now, you need to look after the tyres until the end, basically don't fight each other. I turned the engine down... Emotions obviously are probably not the best at the moment, " said Webber. Once the team-mates are well place, the formula One teams often issue orders to their drivers to stop competing with each other in order to avoid mishaps. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted Vettel had taken the situation into his own hands. "They took it into their own hands, which was uncomfortable for us - we gave them instructions to hold station but Sebastian took it into his own hands to win the race - he wanted to win," Horner told Sky Sports. "They've raced each other hard before - they're very good drivers. There are points at stake and they both want to win. For the team it's hugely uncomfortable." Webber added that the situation between the two drivers, could now prove difficult for the team in the future with trust that shot. "I'm a huge sports fan. I think we want to see people give their best until the end. It's extremely unusual to have both cars at the end of a race together,'' Webber said. "Obviously now is a difficult situation for the future but it's part of Formula One.'' He added: "We are professionals and we did the job today. But it's not an easy situation for the team and it's always spoken about, always has been and always will be.'' Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who finished third, was also contrite after team principal Ross Brawn told a frustrated Nico Rosberg not to overtake his illustrious new stablemate in the closing stages. "I don't feel spectacular to be here. I think Nico deserved to be where I am now,'' Hamilton said. ``But obviously the team thought that with the position of the championship perhaps it was logical to stay in the positions we were in. "But I have to say congratulations to Nico because he drove a much smarter, much more controlled race than I did today.'' Vettel now heads the Formula One championship after the first two races, with Webber third, as he bids to become the youngest driver to win four world titles in a row. Sebastian Vettel declared himself as the winner of Malaysian Grand Prix by over-riding unfairly his team mate Mark Webber.
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