Vettel: “I wasn't fast enough against Hamilton”

On the podium for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September, Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) however, still conceded ground to Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in their fight for the world title. The German is 66 points behind the Briton after the United States GP in Austin (Texas) while there remain 75 points to be awarded in the next three rounds.

However, it would be wrong to believe Sebastian Vettel a defeatist. Proof of this is his excellent start from second place on the starting grid on Sunday. Just to show the Mercedes that it would not give up, the Ferrari veered slightly towards the Silver Arrow, before taking the inside of the first corner blindly. The situation would last six rounds.

The four-time world champion in the discipline, then in the lead, suddenly found himself in trouble with his tires. “After a great takeoff, I wasn't fast enough. I felt that the tires and the car were suffering after three or four laps, while Lewis had no problems. He easily benefited from the DRS, which is normally very complicated to obtain after the winding first sector. » Lewis Hamilton easily overtook his opponent. “I tried to stop him. Maybe I could have been more efficient, but he was so fast that in the end it didn't matter much.", explains the Ferrari driver.

Sebastian Vettel was then unable to keep up with the pace of the car silver. In agreement with his team, he adopted the emergency plan, with a second pit stop in the last third of the event. “At that moment, it was difficult to anticipate the outcome of this strategy, but it was a good decision. » Left behind Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari), the wearer of number 5 had to fight hard to regain his possession, 2nd place.

Taking advantage of conservative driving from the first named, Sebastian Vettel took the outside line to overtake the Mercedes. “It was a spontaneous maneuver”He says. “I wanted to go to the outside, I saw a latecomer and that made me hesitate for a second. I didn't know where to go and then I thought "Okay, there's a bit of space, I have to go for it." Arriving between the two cars, my only desire was to get out of this situation. It worked well. It was very close, but super special,” enthuses the author of the overrun.

Despite this exciting moment for fans of the passing of arms, Sebastian Vettel is disappointed with his Sunday. “This is not the result we wanted. I sat in the cockpit feeling confident. We were beaten outright by Lewis, I congratulate him. »