Sebastian Vettel admits that a "wobble" cost him during his battle with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the latter stages of the Singapore Grand Prix. The German has an impressive track record at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with the venue being the scene of his last F1 victory to date back in 2019. On this occasion, Vettel made a strong start from P13 on the grid, and was racing in the top 10 for much of the event. Towards the end of the race, Vettel was involved in a fight with Verstappen and Hamilton for P7, with his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll up ahead in P6.
Vettel reflects on Verstappen and Hamilton battle
Vettel admits that his position behind Stroll had an impact on the state of his tyres, before a "wobble" allowed Verstappen to overtake and snatch seventh place on the last lap of the race. "[Verstappen and Hamilton] were both a lot quicker, especially towards the end," Vettel told media, including RacingNews365.com . "I was always a bit too close to Lance; not close enough to get the DRS [Drag Reduction System], but close enough to lose grip. It did hurt me, my tyres were a bit shot at the very end! "I knew I needed a very good exit out of [Turn] 5. I was very quick on the way in, I had a little wobble on the way out, and Max obviously had a clean run. "They have a very high top speed, especially [in the] second part of this race. Then I was on the dirty side, I tried to defend, but he was able to brake a lot later."
Vettel "disappointed" to lose position after pit-stops
Vettel finished the race in P8 and, with Stroll holding on to P6, Aston Martin were able to clinch a double points finish. Despite this, the four-time World Champion was left feeling slightly disappointed after the race, having felt that he lost out on a higher position due to pitting early to switch from Intermediate tyres to slicks. "Obviously, we could capitalise on some of the mistakes other people did and, overall, I think it was a good race," Vettel said. "I'm a little bit disappointed. We could have stopped a lap or two later, because I think it was still a bit too early to go on dries. "Obviously, Pierre [Gasly] lost a lot of time [by pitting early], but then we lost time, and then there was a Safety Car, so I lost the position. "But, in the end, [it] was important for the team, and a shame that I lost [a] position in the final lap."
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