Sebastian Vettel says he and Mark Webber both lacked "maturity" in their infamous Multi-21 saga triggered at the 2013 F1 Malaysian Grand Prix. In just the second race of the season, Vettel – in car #1 – was told to hold station behind leader Webber – car #2 – after their final pit-stops, with the Red Bull duo unchallenged from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg behind who were embroiled in their own battle for third place. On Lap 46 of 56, Vettel finally made the pass on Webber, having gone close in the laps prior and narrowly missing crashing into the pit wall in the process. Post-race, Vettel was apologetic, but two weeks later in China declared that he wasn't sorry as: "I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won." Webber would retire from F1 at the end of the year, going winless in his final season, as Vettel racked up 13 victories in total and his fourth World Championship as the relationship between them hit a new low. However, speaking just prior to his own retirement, Vettel suggested that both drivers should have handled the situation differently.
Vettel on Multi-21
"Red Bull started to become a team where you could actually achieve something, and Mark was a huge contributor to that," Vettel explained on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast. "When it came together, it was great, but in our sport, only one guy can win. I wanted to win, he wanted to win, so ultimately someone had to come second. It was just the rivalry. "We were at very different stages in our career. I didn't look at much else, and maybe he and I didn't have the maturity to look at the bigger picture, but we always got on. "It got more intense because the rivalry was there, and it was clear that we could win with our car. "Like I said, only one guy could win, but I think the fact that we always had a good relationship, even in difficult times, brought us together in the end. "Today, I think we are really good with each other."
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