The ‘Multi 21’ saga is an infamous incident that took place between Red Bull teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber on this day, 10 years ago, at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Red Bull team had imposed Multi 21, which refers to the team asking their drivers to maintain their position.
With Webber and Vettel set to clinch a 1-2 in the race, the team wanted their drivers to take care of their tires and get the car comfortably to the finishing line. However, since Vettel was behind Webber, he refused to abide by the team’s orders.
Instead, he pushed hard and past Webber, much to the frustration of his Red Bull team and his Australian teammate. If the relationship between the two was not bad already, this incident caused it to reach a point where it was not salvageable anymore.
What was the Multi 21 saga about?
The Multi 21 saga took place at the second race of the 2013 season in Malaysia. Sebastian Vettel began the race from the pole position, while Mark Webber started it from fourth on the grid.
Even though Vettel began the race from the pole position, the Australian got the better start and took the lead in the race after a few laps. Since tire wear was high during the race, both drivers were told to ease off and follow ‘Multi 21’.
As per this team order, Red Bull wanted the two drivers to hold positions and not race each other. However, Vettel did not abide by the team’s order.
With 13 laps remaining in the Malaysian GP, Vettel pushed hard and overtook Webber to win the race. As seen in the video below, Webber was far from happy with the German not following ‘Multi 21’.
Multi 21 pic.twitter.com/pilmATHnBv
— F1 To Rule Them All (@F1RulesMedia) April 30, 2022
Did Multi 21 once again take place at the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP?
Multi 21 seemingly took place all over again at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix a week ago between the current-day Red Bull teammates Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. Both were told to slow down and reduce the workload on their engines.
However, similar to Sebastian Vettel back in 2013, Verstappen did not follow the team’s orders. While the Dutchman was way behind Perez to pose a significant threat, he did push hard and take the extra point due to the fastest lap.
As expected, Perez was not too happy as he confronted Verstappen after the race about the same. However, Verstappen being the competitor that he is, ensured that he grabbed that extra point to maintain the lead in the championship.
Verstappen has currently scored 44 points and leads Perez (43) by one point ahead of the next race in Australia. The Australian GP will take place from March 31 to April 2.
