Vettel fears gearbox damage, possible penalty after Stroll clash

Sebastian Vettel is concerned that the gearbox on his Ferrari Formula 1 car may need replacing following his clash with Lance Stroll after the chequered flag in Malaysia, risking a five-place grid penalty at next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

The two drivers made contact on the cool-down lap en route to parc ferme, leaving the Ferrari with significant damage to its left-rear that meant Vettel had to abandon his car and return to the pits sat on Pascal Wehrlein's Sauber.

The stewards looked into the incident before deeming that neither driver was wholly responsible, taking no further action as a result.

"We were all going slow, I was going around the outside and then I think he, as far as I heard,  wanted to pick up rubber, but he needs to look where other people are around him," Vettel explained.

"It was unnecessary. Not my decision to take, but given that what we’ve seen in the past, at times… yeah. Whatever."

When asked if there was any damage to the gearbox, Vettel said: "We’ll check that now, but yeah, for sure. That could be another bad surprise this weekend.

"I hope not because as I said it was completely unnecessary."

Should Vettel require a new gearbox in Japan next weekend, he would take a five-place grid penalty as the existing gearbox has not completed the required six events, having only been fitted in Singapore.