Red Bull F1 legend 'HATED' by Ferrari insists paddock insider

A former Red Bull icon was 'hated' by staff at Formula 1 rivals Ferrari, according to a former member of the Maranello-based team.

Ruth Buscombe, a former race strategist at the Italian giants, made the stunning revelation while speaking about four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who also raced for Ferrari during his illustrious career.

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Vettel won all four of his championships in a dominant spell with Red Bull between 2010-2013, beating Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in multiple closely-fought title battles.

Buscombe was a key figure at Ferrari during that time, working closely with the likes of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen during her four-year spell between 2012-2016.

Praise for the 'ultimate rival'

Buscombe has now admitted the Maranello squad had little love for Red Bull's all-conquering world champion at the time, given his on-track dominance during that period, but is pleased that the pair have since become close friends.

Vettel teamed up with Ferrari in 2015, and went on to claim 14 grand prix victories with the team in a six-season spell, with Buscombe present for the first two of those fondly-remembered years.

“I mean, I can’t say enough good things about Seb [Vettel], as a human being, as a driver," she told the Fast and the Furious Podcast.

“I couldn’t imagine 10 years later when he announced his retirement saying good things about him because in 2012, I was at Ferrari and we hated that man!

“So like, him and the finger were like the worst thing, so we were very excited about when he was joining Ferrari.

“He was just too good, he was the ultimate rival, little did I know at that point that he would become one of the most important people in my life and my friend.”

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