Vettel three points away from ban after nightmare Italian GP

Sebastian Vettel says he simply the lost the rear of his Ferrari Formula 1 car and was unable to catch it as he made a costly error during the Italian Grand Prix.

Vettel, who started fourth, endured a miserable home race for Ferrari at Monza and finished a lowly 13th after spinning by himself at the Ascari Chicane on Lap 6.

As Vettel rejoined the circuit he clipped the rear of Lance Stroll’s Racing Point, resulting in him being hit with a 10-second stop-go penalty for his unsafe return to the track.

“I’m not happy with it, I can’t be happy with my day today,” Vettel said.

“I thought we had a good start and then nowhere to go, lost the position, got it back and reconnected to the cars ahead.

“Then I just lost the rear and couldn’t catch it. It’s as simple as that but obviously not happy with it and then after that the race was obviously gone.”

Vettel insisted he could not see Stroll as he rejoined the circuit, having struggled to get his car going again following his spin.

“I struggled a couple of times to get the car going and get the car going in the right direction so I didn’t see him,” he explained.

The German has now fallen 13 points behind Leclerc to fifth place in the drivers’ championship after his teammate’s second consecutive victory.

Asked if he has loved any love for F1 following his latest set-back, Vettel replied: “No not really i haven’t.

“Of course I still love what I do but surely when you are not doing well and you know you can do well you can’t be happy.”

Vettel was also hit with three penalty points on his licence for his actions in Italy, moving him onto nine for the current 12-month period. If he picks up another three across the next three races before October 19 he will get a race-ban.