Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hailed Sebastian Vettel's Malaysian Grand Prix victory as a 'classic' performance. Horner and Red Bull were forced to bid farewell to Vettel at the end of last season as the 27-year-old decided to pursue his dream of driving for Ferrari. Despite winning four world titles and 39 grands prix with the Milton Keynes-based marque, Vettel felt the time was right to try pastures new. Sebastian Vettel celebrates emerging victorious at the Malaysian Grand Prix with Ferrari on Sunday . Red Bull team principal Christian Horner praised Vettel's performance, saying 'he drove brilliantly' Vettel celebrates taking victory in his Ferrari in the immediate aftermath of the Malaysian Grand Prix . On the back of his triumph at the Sepang International Circuit, it would appear to be an inspired move as Red Bull are floundering, whilst Ferrari are clearly back with a bang. Acknowledging Vettel's display, Horner said: 'On a personal note it's great to see him win. I'm pleased for him. He looked a happy chap. 'I thought he drove brilliantly. It was classic Vettel. He got his head down at the front, managed the tyres and managed to make a two-stop strategy work. 'The Ferrari did look very gentle on its tyres in the heat and temperature (33 degrees centigrade). 'Seb has clearly got a good feel in the car, it has good driveability and he's very good at looking after the tyres, and in that situation he is quite often unbeatable.' Looking at the bigger picture, Horner added: 'Although it wasn't a great day for us, it was at least a good day for Formula One in that in a straight race Ferrari managed to beat Mercedes.' The start to the new season has so far been disastrous for Red Bull for after complaining vociferously about power-unit supplier Renault after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, it was brake issues that proved the team's undoing in Malaysia. Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo could only manage ninth and 10th respectively, even finishing behind the rookie pairing from 'sister' team Toro Rosso in Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr who were seventh and eighth. Holding up Ferrari's turnaround as an example of what can be achieved, Horner added: 'They have done a good job. 'It demonstrates everything is possible, and shows how things can change quite quickly. 'We just have to focus on our issues and address them in the forthcoming races because we had a very tough afternoon. F1 stats provided by F1 Stat Blog . Daniil Kvyat was Red Bull's highest finisher in Malaysia, crossing the line in ninth position . Horner wants his Red Bull team to use Ferrari as an example of the level of turnaround that can happen . 'As soon as we started to run into traffic, temperatures started to get out of control, in particular managing the brakes, and then we didn't really have any pace. 'It was then about trying to manage our race to make sure we got to the end, so a frustrating afternoon really. 'We need to go away and understand some of the issues from the weekend and make sure we address them, hopefully in time for the next race in China.'
Christian Horner says Sebastian Vettel's Malaysia display was 'classic'
Red Bull could only take ninth and tenth in the Malaysian Grand Prix . But Horner believes his team will be able to quickly improve their form . CLICK HERE for all the latest F1 news after Sunday's Malaysian GP .