Christian Horner has categorically confirmed that no order was given to Sebastian Vettel for the German to back off at the Safety Car restart of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
With eventual winner Mark Webber leading the field but yet to pit, meaning he needed a large margin in order to jump then third-placed Fernando Alonso, second-placed Vettel – leader before the stops – restarted the race 2.2 seconds behind his team-mate on Lap 18, leading some to believe that the moment may have been a team tactic.
However, with Vettel having admitted his mistake, Team Principal Horner denied any orders to baulk the chasing pack.
“Mark drove a blinding race,” the Team Principal told BBC Sport. “We knew the start from the dirty side of the grid was going to be tricky and the pace car came out at the wrong time.
“For whatever reason, Seb dropped ten car lengths behind and unfortunately got the penalty…it’s one of those things - it’s very clear in the drivers’ briefings but, for whatever reason, Seb dropped that little bit far back.
“I can confirm that no instruction was given to back up.”
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