Red Bull team-mates clash after controversial defiance from F1 champion

The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix delivered one of F1's most notorious episodes of insubordination, on this day, 13 years ago.

It was a moment that exposed the fractured relationship between Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and left an indelible mark on the championship's history.

Vettel started from pole position at Sepang, but it was Webber who seized control early on a sodden track following a pre-race downpour.

Starting fifth, the Australian capitalised on the tricky conditions to climb to second by lap two before inheriting the lead when Vettel pitted for slick tyres as the circuit dried.

For much of the afternoon, Webber controlled proceedings from the front, seemingly cruising towards a comfortable victory.

Red Bull, mindful of tyre degradation and fuel consumption in Malaysia's punishing heat, issued the coded instruction "Multi 21", meaning car number two (Webber) should remain ahead of car number one (Vettel).

What followed on lap 46 sent shockwaves through the paddock.

Despite explicit team orders to hold position, Vettel attacked his team-mate, using DRS and fresher rubber to launch a brazen move around the outside of turn four.

The pair battled wheel-to-wheel, perilously close to contact, before Vettel muscled through to claim his first victory of the season.

Fury in the cool-down room

The tension was palpable immediately after the chequered flag. In the cool-down room, Webber, visibly seething, refused to engage with Vettel's attempted conversation.

Instead, he sat down and delivered a pointed rebuke: "Multi 21, Seb. Yeah…Multi 21."

Vettel had no response.

Webber initially considered boycotting the podium ceremony altogether but was persuaded to participate, leading to what Martin Brundle later described as "the frostiest of podiums."

Speaking to media afterwards, Vettel acknowledged his transgression, stating: "I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won." He added: "I am the black sheep right now… All I can say is apologies to Mark."

Yet by the following race in China, Vettel's contrition had evaporated. "I don't apologise for winning, I think that is why people employed me in the first place and why I'm here," he declared.

The roots of Vettel's defiance traced back to the previous season's Brazilian Grand Prix, where Webber had squeezed the German against the pit wall during the championship decider, contributing to Vettel being spun by Bruno Senna.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner later confirmed the Malaysia incident was payback, stating unequivocally: "100%."

Within days of the race, Vettel's legal team sent Red Bull a two-page letter claiming the team order had breached his contract by issuing an "unreasonable instruction."

The Multi-21 saga became shorthand for team orders gone wrong, a bitter flashpoint in a fractured partnership that would limp on for just the rest of the season before Webber left Formula 1 altogether.