NOVEMBER 23, 2014

Red Bull still blocking Vettel's Ferrari test

Sebastian Vettel has hit out at Red Bull for blocking him from making his Ferrari test debut next week.

Sebastian Vettel has hit out at Red Bull for blocking him from making his Ferrari test debut next week.

As soon as the German's impending departure from Red Bull was announced, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz said Vettel will only be free to go in the days after the post-race Abu Dhabi test.

Vettel said he understood the decision.

Since then, however, something must have changed, because after qualifying in Abu Dhabi, Vettel was freshly bemoaning the fact he cannot drive Ferrari's 2014 car next week.

"The (Red Bull) engineers suddenly panicked that I will take all these secrets to Ferrari," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"But if I want to do that, I can also do it in January," Vettel added.

Dr Helmut Marko defended Red Bull's defiance: "Why should we give a direct advantage to our competitor?

"If he is able to drive a Ferrari only a few days after the last race, he gives them a direct comparison," he added.

(GMM)