Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel slipped twenty-eight points behind his main title rival Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship as the four-time Formula One world champion crashed out of the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix on the opening lap after contact with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
Although no action was taken by the stewards, Sebastian Vettel appeared to move across on Max Verstappen heading towards turn one, which ultimately caused all three drivers to crash out, with the German spinning his already damaged car into the wall on the exit of turn three. However, as Sebastian was leading the race (starting from pole-position) he was entitled to change the direction one time in order to defend his position. Given the weather and track conditions there have been many comments whether or not this was the ideal approach to the start, yet the outcome now remains the same and Sebastian will have a difficult task as he attempts to continue challenging Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in the final six races of the 2017 Formula One season.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver apologised to his team for crashing out over the radio, and although disappointed with the result, particularly as main rival Lewis Hamilton took the victory on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, he will continue to fight for the championship across the remaining six Grands Prix of the F1 championship: “I had an average start and then I moved slightly to the left trying to defend my position from Max. Then I got bumped on one side as Kimi’s car hit me. I’m not sure what happened. I span at turn three, but that’s because the car was damaged already. We were on the wrong side of the track, which does not help. But there is nothing we can do now and for sure it is bitter, and it is a pity we could not show our true pace in Singapore; but we have other races ahead of us and I am sure there will be more opportunities for us.” – Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel explained, as reported by the Italian media.
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