Sebastian Vettel said fifth place in Canadian GP was best he could do
Ferrari ace entertains the crowd with drive from 18th on the grid and reckons a podium would have been possible but for Saturday's difficulties
Monday 8 June 2015 07:49, UK
Sebastian Vettel was happy enough with his comeback drive at the Canadian GP but was left to rue Saturday’s difficulties that forced him to start 18th on the grid.
Vettel was busier than just about anybody on Sunday afternoon, with the Ferrari driver coming through the field to finish fifth, one place behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Raikkonen had started third on the grid but, with Lewis Hamilton winning the race from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, he handed the final podium place to fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas after spinning.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 afterwards, Vettel thought he could have finished in the top three if it hadn’t been for the double whammy of an engine problem in qualifying, plus a five-place grid penalty for overtaking illegally after final practice was red-flagged.
“It was the best we could do. It’s a bit of a shame obviously because especially around here it’s a very nice podium and I think, without the penalty, I could have had a shot,” the four-time champion said.
“But would, could, should doesn’t really matter. That’s life and it was a good recovery.
“I was very happy with the car, especially towards the end, the pace just kept coming and it was getting quicker and quicker.”
Even so, Vettel was hindered by a slow opening pit stop and also came close to colliding with Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India at the final chicane on lap 44.
Vettel also reckoned he could have made more progress in the early laps. “Opening laps, not so happy with myself,” he said. “I was very aggressive but there just wasn’t a gap; sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not and I guess I need to have a look at what I could have done better because that’s really where you can make a lot of ground.
“It wasn’t there, so I had to be patient. Nevertheless, it was a good race.”
Summing up, the 27-year-old said he’s enjoyed it “a lot. And also the people enjoyed it when I was getting past someone; I looking at the grandstands, especially around the hairpin and the people were going crazy.
“Maybe it was for someone else, but I took it nonetheless.”
F1 Midweek Report
