Sebastian Vettel has admitted responsibility for his drive-through penalty in Budapest.
German accepts the blame
Sebastian Vettel has admitted responsibility for his drive-through penalty in Budapest.
The German led the opening stint of the Hungarian GP before pitting when the Safety Car came out on lap 17 and lining up behind his team-mate Mark Webber.
However, his second place soon became a third when he was handed a drive-through penalty by the race stewards for exceeding the 10-car length behind the Safety Car.
A rather frustrated and furious Vettel took the penalty, waving his fist at the Red Bull pit wall pit as he drove past.
"I didn't understand what was going on and why I was penalised," said Vettel of his raised fist. "It was a question mark for me, I didn't understand until someone told me why after the race."
Explaining why he exceeded the maximum length, the reason why he was handed the penalty, Vettel admitted he had not been concentrating on the race.
Relaxed
"At the restart, I was sleeping, probably relaxed too much," he said. "I know I was relying too much on the radio, but early in the race I lost the radio connection, so I couldn't hear anything.
"I saw the Safety Car boards and was waiting for instructions, so I didn't see the lights on the Safety Car. Usually, when the Safety Car comes in, the leader tries to drop back and dictate the pace, but Mark was very close.
"I was just warming up my car. I was sure we had another lap. Then I saw Mark at the last corner and the safety car going into the pits, so I knew it was a restart.
"I lost a lot of time there, which was not the intention. And then I got the drive-through."
He added: "Very unlucky and I'm disappointed because it would have been a walk in the park without that."
