Sebastian Vettel reveals his hurt at podium booing after wrapping up fourth title

An emotional Sebastian Vettel has revealed his personal hurt at being repeatedly booed on the podium this season in the wake of securing his fourth successive World Championship with a suitably flawless drive to win the Indian GP.

There is no doubt that Red Bull have been hurt by the brickbats and the negative perception their protégé has suffered. It's perhaps the only battle the team have yet to win. "Some of the booing has been wound by his competitors, some of it is the jealousy of success, and some of it, in truth, is the Malaysia incident," admitted Adrian Newey in acknowledgment of the infamous Multi-21 saga to Sky Sports F1. "I don't think people realise that in the heat of the moment you do things that afterwards you may regret. Sebastian afterwards realised it was a mistake, and I don't think that should in any way detract from the great that he is." Red Bull chief Christian Horner was equally lavish in his praise - and keen to salute the human virtues of his title-winning driver. "He is a nice guy, hugely popular within the team, with a great sense of humour and he deserves all the credit he gets," the Milton Keynes team boss told Sky F1 having revealed at the start of the weekend that he first met Vettel shortly after the youngster had passed his driving test and then, entirely on his own initiative, drove to the Red Bull garage to introduce himself. Not that the enthusiasm of youth explains how and why, just ten years after that history-changing day trip, Vettel has been able to conquer the pinnacle of motorsport in such emphatic fashion. "There's a bit everywhere, and it's the consistency, and the consistency of repeating it in high pres-sure moments," replied Horner when asked what makes Vettel quite so special. "There's nothing he does which is wildly different to the others, it's just that he does it a little bit better and on a consistent basis". It doesn't sound special, but it's the definition of a champion.