Gearbox Fears for Vettel After Post Race Crash

The Ferrari’s luck has taken a downturn off late. They lost their bid for the Constructor’s Championship a while back. But Vettel was firmly in the running for Driver’s Championship. The latest issue involves his gearbox.

All that changed in Singapore after that horrific crash. Coming to Malaysia, the signs were in favour of Ferrari in terms of pace. Alas, the turbo on Vettel’s car gave up on Saturday. The German started from dead last while his team-mate was on the front row. But even before the start of the race disaster struck for the Finn.

So Vettel sliced through the field to climb up to P4. He couldn’t take P3 From Ricciardo though but the good thing was that he conceded only 8 points to Hamilton.

Post race drama

But that’s where the good news ends. While on the cool down lap after the race, Vettel ran into Stroll. The impact was so severe that Vettel’s left rear suspension broke and landed all the way on the other end. Surprisingly, Stroll emerge largely unscathed. The livid German laid the blame solely on Stroll’s shoulders.

While he came back to the pits having been given a lift by his compatriot Wehrlein, tension was high in the pit regarding any penalty. The stewards cleared the two.

But right now reports are making the round that Vettel’s gearbox may have been damaged in the incident necessitating a change in the next race.

The change will mean a 5 place grid penalty. The next track is the Suzuka circuit. It is unknown as to which car it’ll suit better, Merc or Ferrari and trailing the championship by more than 30 points, Vettel cannot afford any setbacks.

The next few days will be critical both for Scuderia Ferrari and Vettel’s fans.