Vettel: a racing incident with Rosberg

Sebastian Vettel went to the commissioners to defend his case and avoid a penalty. The pilot of the Team Ferrari retired from the Malaysian Grand Prix after clashing with Nico Rosberg, sending his compatriot into a spin who was able to salvage a third place.

The four-time world champion was battling with Max Verstappen (Red Bull) at the first turn before failing to brake and hitting the Mercedes W07 Hybrid from his compatriot.

“I braked at the same point as (Verstappen). We were side by side. It's part of the race, explained Sebastian Vettel. We could both take the turn. Nico (Rosberg) decided to take a different trajectory, he was in front and didn't have to worry about what was happening behind. I didn't brake too late because I took the turn without any problem. Nico tried to cut the line to try something on Lewis (Hamilton) and we held on. »

This is the third retirement of the season for Sebastian Vettel after Sochi (Russia) and the Red Bull Ring (Austria). The German, fifth in the Championship, is now 13 points behind his teammate Kimi Räikkönen who finished in fourth place at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Following the FIA ​​investigation, the stewards imposed a three-place penalty on Sebastian Vettel on the grid for the Japanese GP at Suzuka next week, as well as a withdrawal of two points from his license.

“In view of the images and after discussing with the drivers concerned, the stewards determined that the driver of the No. 5 made a slight error entering turn No. 1 which caused contact with the No. 6, even though the two cars were traveling at similar speeds”, it is indicated in the FIA ​​document.

Malaysian Grand Prix results

Discover the analysis of the Malaysian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2083 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.