"He said when he left Ferrari that he was a Ferrari fan but today he didn't act like one," says Sebastian
Tuesday 10 October 2017 11:57, UK
Sebastian Vettel has accused Fernando Alonso of "jumping in the middle" of his battle for the podium with Daniel Ricciardo at the Malaysia GP, claiming he was impeded as he tried to lap the McLaren.
Vettel had closed to within DRS range of the Red Bull when blue flags were waved for Alonso down the pit straight on Lap 48, but while the Spaniard allowed Ricciardo through, Vettel was stuck behind until Turn Four.
The Ferrari driver lost crucial time to Ricciardo in the process and was never able to overtake afterwards, eventually lacking tyre grip and finishing fourth after a storming comeback drive from the back of the grid.
"Come on Alonso," Vettel first fumed over team radio. "I thought you were better than that."
And Vettel continued his criticism of the former Scuderia favourite after the race, adding: "Fernando decided to jump in the middle. I think he said when he left Ferrari that he was a Ferrari fan but today he didn't act like one."
While Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his seventh-place finish in Sepang was his best ever F1 drive, Alonso struggled to 11th after a disappointing start behind the Williams.
Addressing the incident with Vettel, the two-time world champion told Sky F1: "For me it looks OK but we've heard 'blue flags, blue flags' from him before so it was just one of those."
