F1: Webber happy to see Verstappen destroy Vettel's records

To say there was bad-blood between former Red Bull F1 teammate Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel would be an understatement.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Vettel spent 94 Grands Prix alongside Webber – his longest-standing teammate – having joined Red Bull in 2009, before leaving as a four-time world champion at the end of 2014.

Grand Prix of Malaysia, Sepang International Circuit. Image shows Mark Webber (AUS/ Red Bull Racing) and Sebastian Vettel (GER/ Red Bull Racing).

Webber, who took all nine of his Grand Prix wins with Red Bull, admitted that things were “strained” at the team as he reflected on the “tense” five-season rivalry between himself and the four-time champion, before Webber retired at the end of 2013.

“I mean, God, we’re fine now. It was obviously pretty tense when you’re fighting for championships at the front together,” continued the Australian. “We had a few years when I was [in contention]; a couple of years when I wasn’t.

“It always gets a bit strained – it’s easier to be teammates when you’re fighting for points but obviously, championships and wins is a bit more challenging, which is obviously well-advertised in lots of different scenarios throughout the sport. We weren’t alone in that sense.”

Verstappen recently became the winningest Red Bull driver in history, surpassing Vettel.

Now Verstappen is about to tie and then break another Vettel record and Mark Webber is cheering him on.

Webber says the world wants to see Max Verstappen win at Zandvoort (the next F1 race after the summer break) and equal Vettel’s 9 wins in a row record.

“I think the world would like to see him win his home race. To tie the record there would be extraordinary. He should win that one, and then he’s equal.”

And if he wins at Monza a week later to set a new record, Webber will be there to cheer loudest.