Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has refused to chastise four-time champion Sebastian Vettel for initially disobeying team orders during the Chinese GP.

It is not the first time Vettel has been involved in such controversy as he flagrantly ignored instructions not to pass former team-mate Mark Webber during last season’s race in Malaysia to claim the win.

On this occasion, on being told to allow his current team-mate Daniel Ricciardo past, Vettel questioned the command.

When Vettel enquired as to what strategy Ricciardo was running, he was informed the 24-year-old was on fresher tyres, to which he replied: “Tough luck!”

When it was further explained to Vettel the team’s thinking behind their orders, the 26-year-old German yielded two laps later.

They were two laps, however, that potentially cost Ricciardo a run at Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and a possible place on the podium as the Spaniard finished third, just 3.5secs ahead of the Australian, with Vettel a long way adrift in fifth.

But Horner said: “As far as I’m concerned, Sebastian did the right thing for the team by letting his team-mate through.”

The fact is, though, Vettel did not pull aside when immediately asked to do.

Horner added: “He’s a race driver. We employ these guys because they have that fighting spirit, and you don’t win four world championships by not being a racer.”