I still picture Monaco 2010. Tiny streets, high stakes, Vettel and Webber breathing down each other’s necks, every millisecond screaming championship. The Vettel Webber rivalry added a thrilling dimension to the Red Bull dynamic during that time.That moment wasn’t just wheel to wheel; it was the first crack in a buried camaraderie.
When Vettel unceremoniously passed Webber despite the team’s “Multi 21” directive in 2013, it blasted that fragile bond to bits. Webber fumed, later admitting he withheld respect, called Vettel out for being self serving, and said the rest of the season was a grinding pressure cooker.Red Bull insisted Vettel would be protected going forward, and the message was clear: team lines be damned.
Broken Trust and Board Room Politics
It wasn’t just racing; it was psychological warfare. After they collided at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, Webber leading the title hunt and Vettel diving inside, Webber walked away with his car shredded and something intangible more so.
He later wrote that seeing Vettel hugged on TV that day planted the first seed of doubt: was he favored?
Then came the infamous Malaysia 2013. Vettel ignored the team’s coded order to stay behind, and Webber publicly quoted it in the cool down room:
“Multi 21, Seb. Yeah Multi 21.”
That wasn’t compassion, that was raw confrontation. Vettel shrugged that he wouldn’t apologize for winning, even if it meant trampling team protocol.
When Respect Fades, Rivalry Takes Over
Looking back, Webber admits “it was obviously pretty tense.” And he’s not wrong. Vettel and Webber shared 94 Grands Prix together, Red Bull’s longest teammate pairing.
Yet the highlights reel is littered with betrayal, sharp radio exchanges, and a trust deficit that probably never healed.
Still, Webber’s not a dramatist. He knows the territory. Elite teammates compete. His quip after being asked if he’d grab a drink with Vettel? “Definitely not.” But he added something important:
“If Seb was in the ocean… drowning… I’d dive in to help him.”
Because rivalry isn’t always hate, it can be that awkward, competitive love that coexists with mutual pain.
Legacy in the Mirror
Today, reflections on that chapter are softer. Vettel and Webber may joke about “Multi 21” moments together now, but nothing erases the rawness back then. That wasn’t a brotherhood gone bad; it was ambition exposed, split second decisions betraying deeper bonds.
They pushed each other, harder, faster, until there was nothing left but open wounds and memories that still sting. But that’s what made Red Bull’s victories mean something: a war fought at 200 miles per hour, where trust was the first casualty.
