Sebastian Vettel justifies being unable to get away from Lewis Hamilton during the Dutch Grand Prix, which slowed the latter.
During the Dutch Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel just came out of the new fresh tyres but was on P14. He found himself driving before Lewis Hamilton, who had just gotten ahead of Sergio Perez for P3.
Vettel’s presence interrupted Hamilton’s momentum and risked getting overtaken by Perez. The German, in the process, was shown blue flags, but he couldn’t adhere to the instruction.
In response, he was penalized by five seconds by the FIA. Now, Vettel defends himself against the punishment he received and argued that he couldn’t just disappear in thin air.
5 seconds penalty for Sebastian Vettel for ignoring blue flags and blocking Lewis Hamilton#DutchGP #F1 https://t.co/uOBKN2bsPI
— Daniel D (@LetsTalkOfF1) September 4, 2022
“Not even half a lap and I was out of the way,” he said when asked about the offence by Autosport. “So obviously I can’t disappear. I have a different opinion, but it doesn’t matter.”
Also read: Sebastian Vettel knew he can spoil 103 Grand Prix winner’s race as he was made aware of blue flags
Aston Martin informed Sebastian Vettel
Meanwhile, Aston Martin boss Mike Krack reveals that Vettel was informed about the blue flags and the probability of Hamilton and Perez nearing him.
“We knew that we were going to end up in this situation,” said Krack. “We had to stop him. He was made aware, but I think he didn’t see it as bad also, because he had the pace obviously, and he told us also I have the pace to drive away. But if you have the flag, you have the flag.”
In the end, Vettel finished P14, behind his compatriot Mick Schumacher. The two Germans also had brief combat before both ended up in the zone where points can’t be fetched.
This is Vettel’s last season in F1. He has already decided to retire from F1 and would be replaced by Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin for the 2023 season.
It can easily be said that the four-time world champion triggered a huge domino effect in the drivers’ market. Many teams currently aren’t sure about keeping the same lineup for the next season.
Also read: 2020 F2 runner-up settles F2 vs Indycar Debate as Colton Herta eyes AlphaTauri seat
