Red Bull order Vettel to let Ricciardo pass
"Sebastian can you let Ricciardo past, he is faster than you."
How sweet those few words must sound to Australian F1 fans after Red Bull ordered Sebastian Vettel to let up-and-coming teammate, Aussie Daniel Ricciardo pass him during the Bahrain Grand Prix overnight.
Perhaps it would have sounded bitter sweet to former teammate Mark Webber, who always felt that Red Bull favored the four-time world champion German.
But still, there would have been a smirk mixed in there as well watching Vettel struggle with his new car and Ricciardo flying by.
What was even better, Vettel obeyed team orders this time around.
In one of Webber and Vettel's many controversial run ins Red Bull asked the German to hold his position at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2013, when Webber was leading and destined for a first place.
Vettel disobeyed the order and flew past Webber to take the flag, prompting a furious response from Webber.
But this time, in 2014 in Bahrain, Vettel was forced to admit that Ricciardo was faster and allowed him to pass.
Ricciardo raced brilliantly again to finish just off the podium, in fourth. This was despite a ten-place grid penalty for a botched pit stop that saw him start from 13th.
The Aussie worked his way through the field until he found himself behind Vettel. He was not shy about it either.
"We are going to have to do something about this [being caught behind Vettel], we need to decide what to do," he said.
The team responded with those lofty ten words that saw Ricciardo whip past Vettel and continue towards the leaders.
It has been a roller coaster start for Ricciardo in 2014, starting with his second place finish in Melbourne, which was later striped from him.
But with his form at the wheel and a team like Red Bull firmly backing him, it should not be long before he gets his podium, perhaps even a maiden F1 win, in 2014.
