Vettel still smiling after difficult day

SEBASTIAN VETTEL refused to be downcast on Sunday after surrendering the Formula One championship lead to Lewis Hamilton on a dominant day for Mercedes and a difficult one for Ferrari.

With the Italian team’s home crowd cheering as he stood on the podium, despite trailing in third and half a minute behind race winner Hamilton, Vettel said he was energised for the battles ahead.

“For sure, they are giving us a very, very hard time, especially at the moment, but we’ll see,” the German told reporters. “It’s a long journey still.

“I’m still full of adrenaline from the podium, the atmosphere was amazing. You can ask whatever you want now, I don’t care. You will always get a positive answer.”

Ferrari had arrived for their home race knowing that it was likely to favour Mercedes but encouraged by a strong showing in Belgium the previous weekend when Vettel was on Hamilton’s tail all the way

There have been races this season where the Italian team have dominated, and they could well do so again in Singapore in two weeks’ time, but Monza was the equivalent of a bucket of cold water in the face.

“I think we just screwed up,” Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne told RTL television. “The set-up for the car was wrong. I think we underestimated the circuit.” – Reuters