Vettel on his accident: «It’s my fault »

In addition to his new poor performance in qualifying, Vettel made a mistake in the race for the third time this season. Starting 6th on the grid, far behind his teammate who started in second place. Almost 7 tenths behind, the German had to catch up during the race. And as often, the Ferrari driver overdid it.

Author of a very good start, driver number 5 directly overtook Pierre Gasly for 5th position. He only returned this position in the 12th lap. Unlike the drivers around him, Vettel decided to extend his stint on soft tires to be faster at the end of the race. The safety car’s deployment, triggered by Antonio Giovinazzi, allowed the four-time world champion to make a free pit stop. Coming out 3rd, he fought fiercely against the two Red Bulls before ultimately stopping this battle abruptly by colliding with Verstappen.

Incredible scenes here at Silverstone!

Stewards are looking at the incident between Vettel and Verstappen #BritishGP 🇬🇧 #F1 https://t.co/awraiuT6se— Formula 1 (@F1) July 14, 2019

After being overtaken by the Dutchman in Stowe, Vettel tried to counter-attack in the next corner by attempting a dive on the inside but misjudged his braking and hit the rear of the Red Bull: “I thought I had room on the inside, but he didn’t leave the door open. He stayed to the left, and I was too close to him. I couldn’t avoid the crash.”

Vettel made sure to apologize to Verstappen right after the race, admitting he was at fault. An incident that earned the Ferrari driver a 10-second penalty. He thus finishes the race in 16th place, far from the points and especially the podium, where his young teammate finished.

In this context, the position of designated leader within the Scuderia can only be called into question: while Charles Leclerc continues to deliver strong performances, the German makes repeated mistakes with unfortunate consequences.