Sebastian Vettel believes his apology "counts more than any stewards’ decision"
F1 News
Sebastian Vettel believes that his apology after the incident with Max Verstappen would mean more than any stewards penalty. The Ferrari driver rear-ended the Red Bull but amazingly both cars were able to complete the race with Vettel finishing in 16th and Verstappen in 5th.
“Of course initially I thought there was a gap and the gap closed but after some laps, I realized it was my mistake so I went up to Max and told him what I thought,” Vettel said to RaceFans. “That for me counts more than any stewards’ decision to be honest.”
“Obviously he was a bit faster, closing quite quickly and passed very easily before turn 15,” he explained.
“But then he ran a bit wide so I thought I can sneak back. I thought there was a gap which then turned out not to be there. It’s a misjudgment from my side.”
Max Verstappen showed great maturity after the incident and perhaps a younger version of the man wouldn't have been so calm.
“When he jumped out of his car he immediately came to me,” said the Red Bull driver. “He apologized, said he misjudged the braking, [his] fault.”
“It’s disappointing but you can’t change it now,” he added.
Both drivers showed great respect after the incident and did themselves and their teams a great service in the way that the situation was handled.