Vettel Issues Apology to Saddened Tifosi

Sebastian Vettel conceded that he let Ferrari’s fans down after a disappointing run to fourth place at the Italian Grand Prix. Vettel had entered the Monza weekend widely expected to win Ferrari’s first home race since 2010, but his chances dissolved in a first-lap crash with Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel was spun around by contact with Hamilton at the Roggia chicane on the opening lap in Sunday’s race and had to fight back from the back of the field, with his Ferrari’s bodywork significantly damaged.

The disappointing race followed Vettel’s tetchy reaction to qualifying, where he effectively towed team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to pole position.

Ferrari’s tactics and Vettel’s consistency have once again come under the microscope and the German was quick to hold his hands up to the Tifosi after Hamilton pipped Raikkonen late on to seal the win.

“Obviously it’s a disappointment for the weekend, for the people [supporting Ferrari],” he said.

“I feel like I’ve let them down because I think they deserved a different result today.

“But after I had that [collision with Hamilton], I did everything I could, with the damage I had on the car – the whole side was missing – I think it was reasonable. But not great, obviously.”

Vettel entered last year’s Singapore Grand Prix looking to turn a three-point deficit to Hamilton into a championship lead – only for another first-lap crash to tilt momentum towards the Mercedes man.

He will travel to Marina Bay 30 points adrift of Hamilton this year, but Vettel says the title race is not run just yet.

“It’s a bit of a gap, but it’s nothing that we didn’t do in the past,” he added.

“I’ve been in these situations, I know what to do and I’m not going to bother too much about what happened today.

“For sure it’s a disappointment right now, but very quickly I am turning the page and focusing on Singapore. I like the place and I am happy to go there.”