Drivers-turned-pundits Niki Lauda and David Coulthard have defended Red Bull’s use of team orders at Silverstone.

An openly unhappy Mark Webber ignored the instruction to hold station behind Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps of the British grand prix.

Despite team orders now being legal under Jean Todt’s reign as FIA president, Sunday’s incident has reopened the old debate about unfettered racing versus the interests of a team of hundreds of staff.

So was Red Bull wrong to clip Webber’s wings?

“No, not at all,” triple world champion and now RTL pundit Lauda told Germany’s motorsport-magazin.com.

“I can perfectly understand Horner making that call over the radio, simply because he was worried about his two cars. That’s fine by me.”

British pundit Coulthard agrees with Lauda, although he is aware that the readers of his Telegraph column may not.

He insisted: “You cannot expect teams who have sponsorship contracts worth millions to risk throwing away valuable points at that late stage of the race.”

The obvious implication is that Webber’s stance might affect his negotiations for a new contract with Red Bull, with boss Christian Horner already flagging private talks this week.

1996 world champion Damon Hill said: “If he was asked not to overtake, that’s a bit serious for a racing driver.”

But Coulthard, a former Red Bull driver and still a consultant to the energy drink’s premier team, doubts Webber’s reaction will affect his future.

“(Owner) Dietrich Mateschitz wants a fighter; he wants two guys battling hard for wins. He does not want a pussycat,” said the Scot.

Mark Webber is looking to resurrect his outdoor adventure challenge.

The Australian’s last multi-discipline charity event in Tasmania, comprising cycling, trekking and kayaking in harsh terrain, took place after the 2008 season.

Webber badly broke his leg in a mountain bike stage, which derailed his winter testing programme and threatened his entire career, amid rumours it was Red Bull Racing who ordered the event be cancelled for subsequent years.

But the 34-year-old said at the time that it was actually the global financial crisis that caused the event to lapse, due to the expiry of major sponsorship contracts.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper indicated that the next Mark Webber Challenge could be held in late 2011 — after his current contract with Red Bull runs out.

When asked last week what he plans for his retirement, Webber answered: “We’re looking at reintroducing my Tasmania challenge — in fact, we’re in the throes of finalising a deal which will hopefully see it return at the end of 2011.”