Horner insists title not over for Vettel

According to Niki Lauda, Red Bull could look back on the first two rounds of 2010 and rue precisely where the team blew the world championship.

Back-to-back pole sitter Sebastian Vettel left Melbourne on a direct flight to Malaysia on Monday, after retiring from the lead of the Australian grand prix with a wheel-mounting problem caused by a loose wheel nut.

Two weeks earlier, also whilst leading in the dominant RB6, he dropped to fourth place with a failed spark plug.

"There will be consequences," triple world champion Lauda told the German newspaper Bild, in an article headlined "Vettel mad at his Schrott (Scrap)-Bull".

Added Lauda: "Red Bull can forget the title."

But team boss Christian Horner has urged Vettel’s fans not to "panic", arguing that it is not the end of the world for the 22-year-old to be travelling to Kuala Lumpur with a 25-point title deficit.

"We know we have got a fast car and I would far rather have a fast car than a slow car. It’s a long season," the Briton is quoted as saying by The Sun.

"There is still a long way to go and the season will have many different twists and turns," added Horner.