Schumacher Mark II?: Vettel and the determination to dominate

Source: motorsport.com

Sebastian Vettel is secretly a ruthless driver. Behind the intelligently-cultivated facade of the cheerful young German lies a relentlessly competitive individual, willing to do anything within his power to achieve success. Vettel the Emulous has been likened to that other mercilessly competitive German hero of days gone by, the legendary Michael Schumacher, who incidentally is his chief sporting idol having known him from a young age. Such a comparison has been criticised by the Vettel faithful (not least by his Red Bull champion Dr Helmut Marko), but after the events of three weeks ago few would be able to deny the similarities.

Red Bull had the Malaysian GP in the bag in the run up to the last round of pit stops, with Mark Webber leading on the medium compound tyre by a comfortable 4.6 seconds on lap 40 and a rapidly approaching Sebastian Vettel in second. Webber pulled into the pits on lap 44 for a set of the hard compound tyres. He emerged from the pit. His team mate was right beside him. A furious battle for the lead ensued, with the pair almost crashing at the end of the pit straight on lap 46, Vettel executing a move eerily similar to one seen in the infamous Schumacher-Barrichello incident at Hungary in 2010. Vettel did not cease in his relentless attack on Webber, and eventually passed him on the exit of turn four. The chequered flag fell. Vettel won from Webber by 4.3 seconds. The atmosphere in the pre-podium was unusually muted as Webber entered, seemingly oblivious to Vettel's presence. Vettel said "Mark", but received no reply. Webber seated himself, looked at Vettel and said three words: "Multi-21, Seb. Multi-21". This confirmed for the millions watching what they had come to suspect following the reaction on the Red Bull pit wall to the horror unfolding before their eyes: a team order had been executed, and Vettel had ignored it.

Post-race inquisition from hungry journalists revealed that tyre wear had been the primary concern for Red Bull going into the race, with running throughout the weekend showing up how worryingly hard the RB9 was on its tyres. Such was the team's concern that they devised a strategy focused around the coded messages "Multi-12" and "Multi-21", designed to tell the drivers to hold position should car number one be in the lead and number two in second and vice versa. When the call came to execute Multi-21 after that fateful last pitstop, Webber turned his engine mode down, believing that the race was over. In Vettel's eyes it wasn't- he left his engine mode where it was and attacked Webber. After the race he claimed to have "misunderstood" the order and thus failed to take appropriate action, but this is highly doubtful. Vettel is intelligent, and the language used was explicit in its desired intentions; he knew exactly what he was doing. The decision to defy his employers' orders has revealed a lot not only about himself but also about the balance of power within Red Bull. Christian Horner was asked why he didn't order Vettel to give the place he had wrongfully taken from Webber back, and whether he even attempted to. His reply was cold, almost pathetic: "there was no point. He'd made it quite clear what his intention was by making the move. He knew what the communication was . He chose to ignore it". What sanction has this ignominious behaviour quite willingly acknowledged by Red Bull drawn? As of right now, absolutely none. This has understandably angered a certain 36 year-old Australian, who had publicly acknowledged Vettel's usual internal "protection" on the Sepang podium. Webber seems to have felt so betrayed by his team mate that he has apparently begun a search for a seat in endurance racing for next year. To add insult to injury, Vettel announced in the Thursday press conference this race weekend that he was "not sorry for winning", and that he would "do it again" given the chance. Again, this seems eerily similar to Michael Schumacher in his attitude towards trying to drive Jacques Villeneuve off the track in the title decider at Jerez in 1997 and his obstruction of Alonso in Monaco qualifying in 2006, both of which to this day he has not apologised for. It appears, then, as if the three-times world champion is another force that cannot be stopped, only that this time not even his own team can control him.

Following this cataclysmic reawakening of the Vettel vs Webber saga, one could be forgiven for believing that all German drivers were burdened with the dominate-at-all-costs attitude. However, as one Nico Rosberg proved in the same race in the same situation, such a belief would be unjustified. The difference between his and Vettel's behaviour in an almost identical situation can only be described as striking. Rosberg found himself in fourth place behind his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the race. He was catching him quickly, much like Vettel was with Webber. Similarly, the call came across Rosberg's radio to hold station behind Hamilton. He questioned this call several times, stating how he was "so much faster" than his new teammate. His inner competitor was straining against the shackles, but the authoritative voice of Ross Brawn came to quell the urge: "negative Nico, negative." You could almost hear Rosberg screaming "WHY?!" down the radio to his team principle. So could Brawn: "Nico, Lewis' pace is what we are asking him to do. He could go a lot faster, too." So, here we had two top teams faced with excessive tyre wear and a shortage of fuel. Both their drivers were told to cease racing and bring themselves home in the order they were in. The difference? Nico Rosberg magnanimously and respectfully held position behind his teammate. Hamilton was seen clasping palms and hugging Rosberg immediately after the race, and heard by many in his podium speech, finishing with an emphatic statement: "I feel that Nico should be up here." Nico reciprocated: "I wouldn't say they owe me one because I understand." Mercedes thus appears to enjoy a stable working environment founded on an unshakable bond of friendship shared between their two drivers, teammates in karting and neighbours in Monaco. Hamilton fondly recalled in an interview how in the run-up to Christmas in 2012 he returned to his flat with no food, and how Rosberg and his girlfriend offered to make dinner for  him. Such a strong bond may become strained in the ruthless world of Formula 1 and they may fall out in a manner similar to Vettel and Webber and Schumacher and Barichello. But for now, Mercedes look like they have it all under control, ready to take on the title challenge.

Perhaps the most important thing revealed by this stark contrast is that Red Bull is now unquestionably, irrevocably, absolutely Sebastian Vettel's team; Horner's authority appears subject to his will, and the "protection" enjoyed by the world champion has been laid bare in typically Webber-esque fashion. In a team like Ferrari, where Fernando Alonso's contract is widely known to preclude any notion of his teammate having 'number one' status, such a one-man-band philosophy works. While Felipe Massa is undeniably quick, having recently rediscovered his 2008 form, he has an inherently innocent and meek character, able to be manipulated easily: he is the perfect number two driver, able to support his teammate with plentiful skill as and when required. This has been shown as recently as Malaysia, relinquishing his place to Alonso within one corner of the race starting. This does not apply to Webber. He has a strong character and takes no prisoners when the red mist descends. He is inherently rapid and feels that he should be handled as such. He does not play second fiddle to anyone either without a fight or letting everyone know about it. "Not bad for a number two driver" winning the British Grand Prix in 2010 with an inferior front wing. Quite.

Red Bull's championship challenge could become seriously derailed by this recent turn of events. Neither driver will show any contrition in the coming races- they will drive hell-for-leather to show each other who's boss. In his Ferrari glory-days Schumacher held the team's gun to Barrichello's head, ready to fire should he not be willing to cooperate. Ferrari is exactly the same today. Mercedes, on the other hand, currently enjoy an undisturbed peace. They both can and will design an effective championship challenge that will last. Vettel is in a similar situation to Schumacher, except that Webber has his finger on the trigger too. Should they both pull it, Red Bull's success will be turned on its head.