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Vettel ignored team orders in the Malaysian GP to win an intense battle with Webber.
Webber led after the final pit stops and the drivers were told to hold position to the end of the race but Vettel passed Webber after an intense battle with 13 laps to go.
Vettel has since apologised for the incident.
The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crossed the line in unison 12 seconds behind Vettel, while last year’s winner Fernando Alonso crashed out on the second lap when his damaged front wing buckled under the Ferrari’s chassis.
The cars started the race on intermediate tires following a heavy downpour in the mid-afternoon but the main talking point will be the disharmony between the drivers of the leading four cars with both Webber and Rosberg feeling let down by their teams.
Webber moved up from fifth on the grid to first after the second round of pitstops and finally gave up the lead to Vettel, who had demanded his team mate be moved aside by his team, on the 44th of the 56-lap race.
Rosberg also had the pace to get past Hamilton late in the race but team principal Ross Brawn told the German to stay behind the 2008 world champion and make sure they finished rather than race each other.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa came home in a distant fifth place with the Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen, winner in Melbourne a week ago, taking the sixth and seventh spots.
McLaren’s Jenson Button was on for a points-scoring finish, possibly in fifth place, before he was sent on his way from a pit stop with a loose front wheel.
The Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg took eighth ahead of McLaren’s Sergio Perez, with Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne 10th.
It was a race full of drama as the intra-team battles at Red Bull and Mercedes played out live.
The battle between the Red Bulls was resolved in an intense scrap as Webber rejoined from his final pit stop.
Vettel was warned by team boss Christian Horner that he was being “stupid” but the two then battled wheel-to-wheel around Turns One and Two onto Turn Four, where Webber appeared finally to yield to his teammate despite having the inside line.
Webber said: “After the last stop the team told me the race was over and we turned the engines down and go to the end. The team made their decision. Seb made his own decision and he will have protection as usual.”
Vettel was told over the radio after the race: “Good job, Seb. Looks like you wanted it bad enough. Still you’ve got some explaining to do.” Webber had initially taken the lead at the first stops as the drivers came in to fit dry-weather tyres following a wet start.
He had led the race throughout, with the two Red Bull drivers using the two available tyre compounds in different orders.
Vettel chose to end the race on the softer “medium” tyre while Webber was on the hard.
Vettel said: “Obviously it is very hot and if there is something to say we need to say it internally.”
Red Bull motorsport chief Helmut Marko, a powerful champion of Vettel, admitted the battle had “got out of control”.
Meanwhile, there was controversy at Mercedes as Rosberg followed Hamilton closely in the final laps.
Rosberg asked the team to let him pass Hamilton, but was told “negative” by team boss Ross Brawn.
When he complained again, Brawn told him that Hamilton — who had earlier been told to save fuel — was also being “controlled” and could also go faster.
Hamilton admitted on the podium: “I can’t say it’s the best feeling being up here today. If I’m honest I really feel Nico should be standing here.” — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter