F1 News
Vettel gutted: "The guys did everything they could"
- Jake Williams-Smith
Sebastian Vettel was left stranded in the garage during Q3 for the Austrian Grand Prix after suffering a neumatic issue on his Ferrari engine.
The German had been looked set to fight with teammate Charles Leclerc for pole position around the Red Bull Ring until a problem was discovered between Q2 and Q3, forcing the Ferrari man onto the sidelines.
A frantic few minutes of work on the SF90 was for nought as Vettel clambered out of his car while his teammate stormed to pole position.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, Vettel admitted that the team did not yet fully understand the cause of the issue.
"Well obviously the car was broken, so we couldn’t fire it up and go, so we lost part of Q2 and then Q3 completely," he said.
"We fairly quickly made the decision to change, but it’s not so easy. We had to take the bodywork off and it’s not so easy to get there."
"The guys did everything they could, but we couldn’t do it in time. Obviously it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do inside the car.
"Nobody’s fault. For sure we need to understand what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again."
It means that Vettel will line up for Sunday's race in ninth position courtesy of a five-place grid penalty for Kevin Magnussen for a change of gearbox. The Haas driver qualified fifth for the American team.