Beleaguered Red Bull team principal Christian Horner did little this week to dispel the widely held belief that Sebastian Vettel's actions in stealing the Malaysian Grand Prix from team-mate Mark Webber, and his fanning of the flames of controversy, have weakened Horner's authority.
Vettel apologised to the staff at Red
Bull's factory in Milton Keynes, north of London, after the Malaysian race in which he disobeyed Horner's order not to overtake Webber. But just as things were beginning to die down, on arrival in Shanghai he made it clear he would probably do the same thing again and said his actions were payback for Webber's "refusal to help the team in the past".
As Horner spoke of moving on, the world remained sceptical that he can manage his duelling drivers.
He was not helped by the comments made in a recent interview given by team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right-hand man Dr Helmut Marko, which outlined the real team management structure.
Marko denied that he is the real power behind Red Bull, a puppet master who pulls Horner's strings.
