Question: Sebastian, third place after starting on pole. The safety car caused a lot of confusion, a lot of chaos. You came in, in what seemed like a very late call for your pit stop but it was the resumption behind the safety car that seems to have clearly upset you. We saw your expression as you had the drive-through penalty, raising your hands off the steering wheel as you came in.
Sebastian Vettel: I didn’t understand what was going on and why I was penalised. It was a question mark for me. I didn’t understand at the time. Now after the race people told me what happened. The start was fine. We knew it was a long way to the first corner, so Fernando got the tow but we were able to defend. After that we had a very good first stint where we could use our speed. Then with the safety car it was very late, a late call, so I just managed to come in and after that usually it was a very easy race from there as we knew we had the pace advantage. We were probably the fastest car out there, so not much to do. At the re-start I was sleeping. I was probably relying too much on the radio but somewhere in the first stint I Iost the radio connection and I didn’t hear anything. I saw the safety car boards and was waiting for instruction when the safety car would come in. I didn’t see the lights. Also Mark, usually the leader when he does the re-start, he tries to drop back and then dictates the pace. Mark was very close and I was warming up my car. I was sure we had another lap, so I didn’t really understand. Then I saw Mark and the safety car at the second last corner, quite a big gap to myself. I noticed the safety car going into pits, so that must be the re-start and I was caught out, so I lost a lot of momentum and lost a lot in the first couple of laps which was not the intention. Then I got the drive-through. But during the race I did not understand. Pretty unlucky. Obviously very disappointed as otherwise it would have been a walk in the park today and we could have won the race but it didn’t happen, so we saved the podium. After that I was behind Fernando. I was clearly quicker but they are faster than us on the straights. We knew that, so it was impossible to pass.
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Formula 1: Mark Webber Wins Hungarian Grand Prix, Lead Driver’s Championship
Formula 1: Hungarian Grand Prix - Race Results
Formula 1: Hungarian Grand Prix - Post Race Quotes
Formula 1: Hungarian Grand Prix - Race Line Up
F1 Standings Ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix
Question: It is not the first time this season you have started on pole and not won the race. Is this the hardest one to take?
Sebastian Vettel: Well, as I said I did not understand inside the car what was happening and I still do not really understand why I did get a penalty. In the end I should have won. For some reason it did not happen and we finished third. As Mark said none the less it was a good result for the team but surely I am very disappointed.
Question: Sebastian, obviously disappointing for you, and you still don’t seem to know in your mind what happened, why you had the penalty.
Sebastian Vettel: Well, people have told me what happened. I don’t like it but I cannot change it now.
Question: What happened after the safety car went in, because you did lose quite a lot of time to Mark at that time.
Sebastian Vettel: Nothing happened. I think somewhere in the first stint we lost the radio, so I was probably relying too much on the radio call that the safety car was going to come in. Mark was still close to the safety car in turn twelve, turn 13. I had a little bit of a gap but I thought the safety car would stay out, so no problem, and then going through turn 13 I saw that Mark was still very close to the safety car, and all of a sudden the safety car pulled in, so I was surprised, I went onto the power. It looks like I was asleep and I totally lost out on the restart. I don’t know how much time but too much, not acceptable. If anything, that was already a penalty for me and from there onwards, I lost the rhythm a bit and lost a little bit on the first couple of laps. I knew that when the race goes normally there’s nothing to fear because we have made our stops, so we just have to finish the race and we had the pace. Then I got the drive-through. As I said, I was lucky to see the board, it wasn’t easy. Then I came in and got the drive-through. I was obviously pretty angry and had to finish the race (driving) thirty laps behind Fernando. We were clearly faster but there was no way to get past. When you run too close your tyres start to lose the grip. We also knew that we weren’t quick enough on the straights.
Question: You had one fairly big moment off the track at turn four, I guess.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, there was a back marker and I couldn’t really see where he was and Fernando was right behind him. We passed him and I was a little bit late on the entrance, so I decided to go wide. It was not a big deal. I knew that even if I had a gap of two or three seconds to Fernando it would take a lap and I would be back again (close behind him). I tried to stay as close as I could and waited for my chance. It didn’t come. As I said in the car, I didn’t understand what happened but this weekend we were obviously not very lucky. Maybe you can argue that we did something wrong against the regulations but then I don’t know. The way I grew up and what I learned about life at the last race, there was also something that is written in the regulations and it wasn’t followed. Nothing happened. This week… nothing you can compare but we had to pay a very expensive price and in the end we got good points for the team but of course I would have loved to have won the race.
Question: Sebastian, can you tell us exactly when you lost the radio and how you knew when to pit?
Sebastian Vettel: I don’t know when I lost the radio. Obviously I cannot say the (exact) lap because you’re not in contact with your team on every lap, and then from race control I got the message on the start/finish straight. It’s not so easy to see it because it’s just coming out of the last corner. I think I was just right, so probably a bit lucky that I didn’t miss it, and didn’t do too many laps.
For the safety car? I was obviously ten seconds clear of the rest of the field, and I was just exiting turn 13 and there is a light, a board on the right hand side with SC that just popped out, and I was already on the way to approach the last corner and then I saw it at the last second and decided to slow because I knew that within half a second, I knew what could be the consequence if I had to stay out. In the end, we had the pace advantage, so yes, it might have been the smarter thing to do, looking back, but you don’t know at that stage, so I cut the entrance a bit which was last minute and came into the pit, so it was fine.
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