Vettel: “The timing was crucial”

Sebastian Vettel replied to Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) by also securing a 5th victory this season at the end of the Belgian GP. The pilot Ferrari had to quickly attempt an attack and it was in the Kemmel straight that the German managed to take the advantage, just before the race was interrupted following the pileup involving Nico Hulkenberg (Renault), Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Sauber).

“I had a very good start but I wasn't sure if Lewis had seen me, recognized the winner of the Belgian GP. He took me to the outside, but I knew I was going to have my chance after the Raidillon. Timing was crucial and I thought I had done my maneuver at the perfect moment until I saw the Force India (fromEsteban Ocon). But I was relieved as soon as I secured the lead of the race. »

“I was afraid that the safety car would call everything into question, but I managed my restart by ejecting myself well from the first corner. The race then took place without problems. Lewis attacked very hard, especially in the first stint, and he was still very fast towards the end. I was lucky in the traffic and quickly overtook the backmarkers on the straights, which didn't cause me to lose too much time.", added the Ferrari driver who reduced his deficit to 17 points against the Championship leader before the Italian GP played next week.

Sebastian Vettel also celebrated his 52nd success in F1, a record which allows him to surpass Alain Prost.

“Luckily Alain stopped because he could have won many more. The time was different, just because there was less racing. I don’t know about him but I’m very happy”, he commented on Canal+.

Discover the analysis of the Belgian GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2180 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.