Red Bull owner against team orders

The boss of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz (GETTY IMAGES)

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has remarkably revealed he would rather miss out on the Formula One drivers' title than employ underhand tactics like Ferrari.

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel go into the season-ending showdown in Abu Dhabi on Sunday trailing championship leader Fernando Alonso by eight and 15 points respectively.

Either driver could yet clinch the crown, but it has also thrown up the intriguing scenario of Vettel potentially aiding Webber should the young German be in a position to do so in order to deny Alonso.

Team principal Christian Horner has already made it clear no team orders will be imposed, and instead a decision regarding assistance rests solely on Vettel's shoulders.

Mateschitz is also determined to see his team remain loyal to their sporting philosophy, as they have steadfastly done so this season.

That is in contrast to Ferrari's manipulation of the team orders rule for which they were found guilty after Felipe Massa allowed through Alonso to claim victory in the German Grand Prix in July.

Mateschitz is adamant his team will not sink to such depths as he said: "Let the two drivers race and whatever will be will be. If Alonso wins we will have been unlucky."

Speaking in Austrian newspaper Kliene Zeitung, the energy drinks magnate added: "I predict a Hollywood ending, with the worst case scenario we don't become champion.

"We'll do it next year. But our philosophy stays the same because this is sport and it must remain sport.

"We don't manipulate things like Ferrari do. The whole world condemned them after what they did in Hockenheim.

"But we have turned out to look like idiots because we have not acted in this way.

"But we have never even thought about it as long as both our drivers remain in the hunt for the championship.

"So a second place under correct circumstances might be better than a win on grounds of orders and confirmations."