Red Bull slam ‘unfair’ Vettel boos after Singapore GP

They are hurting the German driver’s feelings, says team manager.

SINGAPORE: Red Bull manager Christian Horner lashed out at the fans who continue to boo Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel and suggested they were hurting the young German’s feelings.

Horner said it was ‘unfair’ to boo Vettel, who has suffered repeated ill-treatment this year and was again subjected to loud chants and heckles after winning Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old star did his best to shrug off the jeers but Horner said the booing, blamed on a particular group of fans, might be getting under his skin.

“There is a small collective group and it is like a pantomime, but it is so unfair because it is not sporting,” said Horner, according to Autosport.com.

“The boy drove an unbelievable race. What you have witnessed is one of the best drives that I have seen him produce in terms of raw pace, and I just don’t think it is sporting to see a driver who has put a performance like that and not get the reception he deserves.”

Booing erupted after Vettel’s wins in Belgium and Italy, and surprisingly at the less partisan circuit of Singapore, as Vettel moved closer to a fourth straight world title.

The harsh criticism has been put down to plain boredom from fans, but there is also residual anger after Vettel controversially ignored team orders and passed teammate Mark Webber to win the Malaysian Grand Prix in March.

Horner said he did not know what was behind the booing but said ‘for sure Malaysia did not help’.

“When you have a guy who is becoming almost a serial winner, it becomes like when people watched Mohammed Ali, they wanted to see who would beat him,” he said.

“That is the case at the moment; people want to see who is going to beat Sebastian.”

Webber faces 10 place penalty for ‘taxi’ ride

Mark Webber faces a 10-place grid penalty at the Korean Grand Prix after being reprimanded for hitching a lift on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari at the end of Sunday’s race.

The reprimand was the Australian veteran’s third of the season, which means that under Formula One regulations he will collect the automatic grid sanction in Korea. He had previously been reprimanded in Bahrain and Canada.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2013.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.