Vettel 'surprised' by Hamilton's proximity after stop

Beaten by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari accepted defeat without major regrets. The German admits to being surprised to see Hamilton so close after his pit stop.

Published on 14/05/2017 à 17:12

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Vettel 'surprised' by Hamilton's proximity after stop

Ahead of 51 thousandths yesterday in qualifying by Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel had a new opportunity to play for victory against its best rival in 2017 on Catalan soil. A scenario which took shape in the best possible way when the lights went out, since the German took the advantage over the Briton before the first corner.

If the strategies diverged between the two teams, Ferrari stopping Vettel after a shorter first stint, and letting him start again on soft tires, when Mercedes chose the medium tires at the end of a long stint, Hamilton and Vettel never let go of each other during the race, the driver of the Team however conceding time behind Bottas after its first visit to the pits.

Their duel reached its climax when the German driver left the pits after his second stop, the latter remaining in the lead temporarily after contact with the No. 08 Mercedes W44. « I was a little surprised when I came out, he was so close, admits Vettel.

I tried to brake as late as possible in turn 1 and I locked my wheels a little... I managed to stay in the lead, but it was very close. Then I did everything I could to stay ahead. »

The German, however, had to lose in the final quarter of the race, with Hamilton using his DRS on the pit straight to pass the quadruple world champion. “It was a shame, we tried to stay in the race. Well done to him, we did everything we could. »

Maurizio Arrivabene, Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, admitted defeat. “It depends in particular on the tires,” explains the Italian on Sky Sports. When you are on soft tires, you have a certain rhythm, and on medium tires another.

Sebastian lost time behind Bottas and then there was the virtual safety car... It's the race, we have to accept it. Next time we will try to do better. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Spanish Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Catalonia, in issue 2114 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.