Catastrophic race for Vettel in Austin

The start of the weekend was going very well for the German. He had posted good times during free practice and had avoided the mechanical issues his teammate experienced in FP3. He confirmed his good form in qualifying by finishing just 12 thousandths behind the poleman, Valtteri Bottas. The track seemed to suit the driver and the car, not hinting at anything bad for Sunday.

Unfortunately, a lot of things happened to Vettel. Overtaken from the start by Max Verstappen, things started badly from the beginning. A situation in crescendo for the German. He was very slow in the first sequence and was overtaken on the outside at turn number 8 by Hamilton with disconcerting ease. Then by Charles Leclerc two turns later on the inside this time. We were then entitled to wonder if the Ferrari driver had collided with another driver or if he had climbed too much on the curb, which would have caused him a puncture or broken his front wing. But no damage was visible on the Ferrari. And yet Vettel complained of a lot of understeer and could barely keep up with Daniel Ricciardo.

The highlight of his problems came on the 8th lap when his suspension gave out. A spectacular accident that could have ended much worse if it had happened in fast corners.

« We don’t know if we had this suspension problem from the start of the race. We had very little grip from the first lap. I really did everything to make the car work in the corners but a few laps later it broke down in turn number 9. » declared the German after his retirement.

We knew from the first free practice sessions that the track was very bumpy, which put the drivers’ backs and the suspensions to a severe test all weekend. These bumps could be the reason for this breakage, yet Vettel insists he has been careful from day one: « I was very careful all weekend. I didn’t do anything different, but clearly something broke and didn’t hold up. »

The four-time German world champion must be disappointed with this zero points finish, especially as he’s battling with Leclerc and Verstappen for third place. However, he still wanted to congratulate his great rival of recent years, Lewis Hamilton, on his sixth title. A very nice gesture from the German, once again demonstrating the respect between the two men and Vettel’s sportsmanship.