WARM-DOWN CRASH SPOILS SEB’S DAY
IT NEVER rains but it pours. So when Sebastian Vettel was hit on his warmdown lap and had to cadge a lift back to the garage, it was neither the start nor the end of his problems. The freak collision with Lance Stroll’s Williams not only ripped off Vettel’s left-rear tyre but the damage is likely to require a new gearbox, which would entail a five-place grid penalty at next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. It is the last thing Vettel needs after his bad recent run: crashing in Singapore on the opening lap a fortnight ago and then suffering power problems that cast him to the back of the grid here when he withdrew from qualifying. Ferrari would be expected to appeal against such a sanction. Even with yesterday’s brilliant drive from 20th to fourth, he is 34 points behind Hamilton with five races remaining — having missed out on two potential victories. But what he did not expect was the heavy bump with Stroll. Vettel came over the radio to say: ‘Stroll just drove into my car. I mean, seriously.’ The Ferrari driver, who then climbed on to the side of Pascal Wehrlein’s Sauber to ride back home, later said: ‘I went to the outside to pick up a bit of rubber and I think Lance wasn’t looking and wanted to do the same, but it was too late — I was already there,’ Stroll hit back, saying: ‘I was on the in-lap, on my normal line, picking up rubber, doing all my switch changes, shutting down the car and Sebastian came flying by me, pushing round the outside as though the race was still on. It was a very strange incident.’ The stewards took no action. It was a poor day for Ferrari overall, with Kimi Raikkonen retiring pre-race with a mechanical problem, meaning they are now 118 points adrift of Mercedes in the constructors table. Vettel, however, did have one stroke of luck. Although he removed his steering wheel from his Ferrari as he climbed out — breaking the rules — the stewards did not notice the infringement. Perhaps they thought he deserved a break.