Vettel: "I overreacted and offer my apologies to Lewis"
- Published on 04 Jul 2017 10:04
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Sebastian Vettel has officially apologised for the incident in Baku, where he received a 10 second stop/go penalty. Vettel swiped into Hamilton under the safety car, prompting an investigation by the FIA on Monday. The governing body deemed that the German should face no further action.
Vettel was surprised that Hamilton slowed down so suddenly under the safety car: "During the lap before the restart, I was surprised by Lewis and I hit the back of his car. Looking back, I do not think he had bad intentions.
"In the heat of battle I overreacted and I would like to apologise to Lewis and to all who were watching the race. I realise that I have not set a good example. I never intended to cause danger to Lewis, but I understand that I created a dangerous situation."
Vettel also apologised to the FIA for the incident and will take part in learning activities for Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula 4 drivers in the next twelve months.
This weekend, Vettel travels to Austria on the back off two consecutive disappointing races. The four-time world champion hasn't climbed onto the podium since the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year, which is also the last race he won. Despite this, he still holds a 14 point lead in the championship over Hamilton.
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (5)
Login to replytalktohenry
Posts: 362
An apology............ on long reflection, well after the event, and to stop FIA action, guessing this was privately agreed with the FIA, but in fairness Lewis tricked him into crashing anyway. Lesson earned SV, be careful how close you get to Lewis next time under the SC. He was in full denial mode on the radio at the time, but that was just to ''play in down''
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm putting this incident behind me.. I'm looking forward to an exciting championship and not listen to some annoyed fans who think they know best! Let's get on with it!
ianf1
Posts: 185
Me too, but I don't think we'll have to wait too long before something else controversial happens.
websurfer
Posts: 52
I bet, if Kevin Magnussen had done the same as Vettel, he would have gotten a race ban. But when one of the BIG guys is involved, no further actions are taken. IMO something is rotten here.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I agree with both views, if this was a person in a lesser car the penalty would have been more at least a black flag or race ban. Words are easy it's the actions that should be punished;
I can't understand why Bottas hasn't had a race ban yet since he is causing so many issues during starts.
Looking forward to the next race; It's heating up...