Vettel sees Singapore start crash ‘part of racing’

Sebastian Vettel is eager to draw a line under his Singapore Grand Prix start collision with Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen and says it won’t alter how it attacks the blasts off the line.

The four-time Formula 1 world champion saw his title ambitions damaged when he tangled with his Ferrari team-mate and the Dutch Red Bull driver at the start of the Singapore race which forced him to retire on the opening lap due to damage.

Coupled with Lewis Hamilton clinching a third consecutive victory since the summer break the Mercedes driver has sprinted into a 28-point lead in the F1 world drivers’ championship.

Vettel accepts the crash in Singapore was ‘pretty bad’ but feels it is a normal risk of high stakes racing and won’t look to make changes in the future to avoid similar problems.

“With a collision like that at the start of the race and all three of us had to face the stewards, what can you do?” Vettel said. “The lights went off, we did our start, everyone was trying to do his start and then the way it happened it ended up pretty bad for all three of us.

“I think it’s part of racing and it’s also not the first time I’ve been in a situation like this and it’s also probably not the last. You are not hoping for it to happen again, but it is part of racing and these things happen. I think your time and your energy is much better spent looking forward.

“Every start is different. You can look at Singapore again and again and it doesn’t matter. It’s done and it was unfortunate for all three of us. I’m pretty sure I can’t say what will be in my mind when I leave the grid – I never thought about the last race and I’m pretty sure I will be focused on seeing what I can do from that start on Sunday.”

The three drivers involved in the Singapore start crash were all placed under investigation by the race stewards but none were judged to be directly at fault, while Verstappen pointed the finger of blame at Vettel for cutting across him starting from pole position.