Sebastian Vettel: 'I was probably too close'

Second on the starting grid, and second at the finish. Sebastian Vettel will not have succeeded in its bet of coming to take the best of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) racing in Belgium. If the pace on the long relays displayed in practice was promising, the German did not find an opening on the Briton this Sunday.

From the first lap, Vettel was insistent in the mirrors of the No. 44 Mercedes, but without being able to get close to the leader. With Lewis Hamilton in control during the first stint, Vettel could have benefited from the intervention of the safety car following the collision between the two Force Indias.

Despite a delay in the Kemmel straight at the restart, the four-time world champion did not find the speed necessary to overtake Hamilton who then managed the end of the race. « I'm not completely satisfied because of the restart,  admitted Vettel.  I was worried that I wasn't close enough when I was probably too close. Then I walked outside with nowhere to go. »

The German driver remains championship leader with seven points ahead of Lewis Hamilton before the big meeting at Monza for the Team Ferrari. " It was very fun. It was really intense because every lap I was waiting for Lewis to make a mistake. He did not commit it. He probably expected me to make a mistake, which was not the case.

I think we had good pace, if you compare this track to Silverstone I think it was much better here. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Belgian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Spa, in issue 2129 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.