This past Monday was the anniversary of arguably the moment in Formula One that Sebastian Vettel’s reputation was changed, perhaps irrevocably.

Twelve months ago, the German ignored the order “multi 21” from the Red Bull Racing pitwall as he overtook teammate Mark Webber to win in Malaysia.

The result of that move was that while Vettel won that afternoon, his reputation took a battering and he suffered for it for the rest of the season, booed by fans in Britain, Italy and Singapore.

The backlash to the four-time world champion’s insubordination by the F1 public continued at the opening round of this season, in Australia earlier this month, with the 26-year-old German loudly jeered by the Melbourne crowd as he walked back to his garage after he had been knocked out in the second part of qualifying.

Australia was always going to be a rough crowd for Vettel, given that is where Webber, the aggrieved party in multi 21, hails from.

While Webber is now retired from F1 it is clear there is still some animosity towards Vettel, but trying to regain the love of the public is probably not a priority right now as he returns to Kuala Lumpur this week for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

The bigger issue is the unreliability of the problematic Renault engine in the Red Bull RB10 car, which is threatening to curtail his ambitions of a fifth successive drivers’ world title.

The Australian Grand Prix was short, but not sweet, for Vettel as he lasted only three laps due to a sick Renault powertrain.

This came as no surprise, in a way, given the problem-filled pre-season Red Bull had endured, with limited running due to a number of mechanical problems, mostly engine related.

It was more of a shock that new teammate Daniel Ricciardo was able to qualify, and finish, second in the second Red Bull.

Yes, the Australian was later disqualified for irregularities over the car’s fuel-flow rate, which Red Bull are to appeal on April 14, but the fact that his teammate’s car was so competitive will have given Vettel cause for optimism.

Early indications suggest Mercedes-GP are the team to chase – Nico Rosberg drove well within himself in winning in Melbourne – but Red Bull, through Ricciardo, looked good compared to everyone else. However, those green shoots of optimism only mask other problems.

Obviously, for now, it is perceived by the race stewards that Ricciardo finished second in a car that was running illegally, plus it is doubtful that Ricciardo would have been on the front row if the conditions had been dry in qualifying.

The Renault engines, as well as having poor reliability, also lacks the power and speed of the Mercedes units, but the wet conditions in which qualifying took part proved to be a great equaliser.

Red Bull, as in their past four championship years, are strong aerodynamically, and the strong downforce on the RB10 gave Ricciardo the grip in which to challenge the Mercedes cars.

If it had been dry all the grip in the world would not have made up for the lack of speed on the straights and Ricciardo and Vettel, if the latter’s car was healthy, would have done well to finish in the top eight.

With thunder storms forecast in the region around the Sepang circuit this weekend, mixed conditions could be an opportunity for Red Bull to take advantage. But for Vettel it is imperative that he has a reliable car.

He does not have to be winning at this stage, but he must score good points to keep in touch with the Mercedes pair Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

That was how he won his 2012 title, the third of his four. He only won once in the first 13 races, but finished in the top six on 10 occasions in that period, leaving himself in range to capitalise when he did have the quickest car.

If he is going to win a fifth world title on the trot it is probably going to be have to be done in a similar fashion to 2012’s triumph, but a lot of things are beyond his control this time.

If Renault cannot raise their game and match Mercedes then he has no chance, regardless of the downforce of the RB10.

The French manufacturers cannot wave a magic to fix their reliabity problems, but they need to find solutions sooner rather than later.

gcaygill@thenational.ae

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