WATCH: Vettel and Ricciardo have contact, Vettel spins

Sebastian Vettel had to drive out of his skin today in order to ensure that Hamilton would not clinch the title, especially because he was starting with P5, thanks to the 3 place grid penalty slapped on him due to the FP 1 incident.

On lap 1 it seemed as if Vettel was up for the task as he managed to get past Ricciardo, but Ricciardo then tried to reclaim his place.

Vettel made a massive mistake right there, not allowing Ricciardo any space, causing the two to collide. Vettel then spun and rejoined the race right from the tail.

Vettel has had similar incidents all through the season and now he will have to absolutely drive perfectly in order to get up the field.

He has been able to get into 5th place, thanks to Ricciardo retiring, due to an engine problem.

Due to Ricciardo’s retirement, the VSC was deployed and Hamilton came into the pits and switched onto the soft tyres.

Check out some twitter reactions regarding Vettel’s mistake:

Vettel makes a mistake!

(Pretends to be shocked)#usgp #wtf1 pic.twitter.com/pBXCbbS9i9

— (@leandromamute03) October 21, 2018

Some one is def #team #LewisHamilton #USGP #Vettel not looking good pic.twitter.com/pQTDAumrD8

— The Grumpy Entrepreneur ® (@ThegrumpyE) October 21, 2018

Me seeing Vettel spin on #COTA #F1 #wtf1 pic.twitter.com/kTmhClHaSP

— Wojciech Osadowski (@Osadowski_W) October 21, 2018

Vettel immediately back up to 5th despite spinning out. This is why people are less interested in F1, even if someone from Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull makes a costly error they’re still guaranteed a top points finish. They’re just too far ahead of everyone. #USGP #F1

— Edward Palmer (@outlawpalmer1) October 21, 2018