After a flat tire: Mega frustration for Vettel

“It wasn’t our day,” says the 31-year-old, reluctantly forcing himself to make another sentence. The completely wrong tire tactics in the decisive round and a driving error threw Vettel back to eighth place on the grid in Suzuka on Saturday. The winner is once again World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who is driving the Mercedes 80. Pole position secures his career.

Lewis Hamilton is the big star at Suzuka. © APA/afp / BEHROUZ MEHRI

“I can’t believe it’s already 80,” says the Brit, whose mood is in stark contrast to Vettel’s complete consternation. Hamilton happily praises his team and doesn't miss a pinprick for Ferrari. “That’s just the difference. Everyone has smart people, but when it comes to making the right decisions under pressure, we are the best team in the world,” says the 33-year-old. The flat tire For Vettel, Saturday's events are all too familiar. Again and again this year, his own mistakes and the Scuderia's strategic mistakes cost him points in the title fight with Hamilton. In Suzuka it looks like this: Because a rain shower is approaching, Ferrari has Vettel and stablemate Kimi Räikkönen put on mixed weather tires at the beginning of the decisive run. But the track is still dry, so Mercedes sends its drivers out of the garage with the fastest rubber compound.

Hamilton and the Finn Valterri Bottas promptly race to first and second place. When Ferrari realized his mistake and quickly changed the tires again, the asphalt was already too slippery. Räikkönen saves himself in fourth place behind the Dutchman Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Vettel, on the other hand, goes off course in turn 14 and only finishes ninth. The fact that a penalty for Racing Point driver Esteban Ocon allowed him to move up to eighth place does not alleviate the frustration. “We made this decision as a team, now it’s easy to know better,” says Vettel tight-lipped.

Just don't blame anyone, that's still the Heppenheimer's motto, even with a 50-point gap to Hamilton before the fifth-to-last race of the season on Sunday (7.10 a.m. CEST/RTL). Internally, however, the tone may be different. Too much went wrong at Ferrari this year, after the title seemed within reach for a long time.

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After a flat tire: Mega frustration for Vettel

Sebastian Vettel's mood can no longer be saved. After the completely botched qualification for the Formula 1 race in Japan, the Ferrari driver can only contain his anger with himself and his team with difficulty.

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