Vettel Hits Back at Ron Dennis for Low-Fuel Comments

Following Sebastian Vettel's engine problems during the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ron Dennis had a personal and quite unique theory on what had happened to the German's RB6 in the last 16 laps of the season opening race. According to the former McLaren Mercedes boss, it seems the Renault-powered Red Bull car suddenly ran into a fuel-efficient mode, which is the reason why it lost valuable seconds per lap time.

Of course, the official argumentation from Red Bull states otherwise, insisting that it was a failed spark plug that caused the sudden loss of power from the Renault powerplant. However, the Austrian team did issue a statement in which it confirmed the start of an internal investigation on the matter.

Asked by the Australian reporters about Dennis' theory, Vettel was very quick in dismissing it, while also showing a little bit of criticism towards the former McLaren team principal.

“Maybe Ron Dennis wanted to attract attention with his theory, because otherwise no one asks for his opinion anymore,” said Vettel, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. Additionally, he explained to the reporters why he chose to stop immediately to the side of the track after crossing the finish line.

“Because at the time I thought the exhaust was broken and I didn't want to do any more damage,” added the 22-year old German.

Indeed, until Red Bull confirmed that Vettel's problem was spark plug-related, every report in the paddock hinted that it was actually an exhaust issue that caused the RB6 to lose that amount of power over the last portion of the race.