Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel conceded he “discarded” triumph in the German Grand Prix with what he said was a “little mix-up” in the rain.
The German swore more than once on the group radio as he sat in the car in the boundaries and apologized to the group both at that point and after the race.
He had gone into the race eight focuses clear of Hamilton at the highest point of the drivers’ standings and was ready to leave with a huge favorable position before the rain turned the race on its head.
As Hamilton, in fourth place and on fresher tires, started to close his shortage to Vettel, the Ferrari skated off the track at the Sachs Kurve clip.
Vettel commanded the race yet smashed with 15 laps to go, as adversary Lewis Hamilton won to construct a 17-point lead.
“We have a strong car so we can be as confident as… more than anybody else,” he said. “It was a very positive weekend, it was just one of those moments, my mistake.
“Apologies to the team, they did everything right, I had it in my hands, small mistake, big disappointment.
“We go to Hungary and we try to do what we can and then we see. We have showed enough times. Everyone knows what we can do, so [I’m] confident looking forward to Hungary.”
“It’s not like tonight I will have difficulties falling asleep because of what I have done wrong,” Vettel said. “I was just a tiny bit too late on the brakes, locked the front then locked the rears and couldn’t turn in.
“It is something I have done wrong and I should have done better but it wasn’t the biggest mistake I have done. It was probably one of the most costly ones but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
“It was a small mistake but a big impact on the race,” the German said.
“We had the pace, controlled most of the race – just sad it ended in the sand pit. It’s disappointing because up to then everything was sweet.”
