Vettel: Apology to Verstappen more important than time penalty

Sebastian Vettel says the fact he apologised to Max Verstappen after rear-ending him during the British Grand Prix on Sunday is more meaningful than the punishment he received for the incident - a 10-second time penalty.

Between turns 15 and 17. Verstappen got the better of Vettel, only for the Ferrari driver to attempt to rebound with an overtake of his own. However, it was midjudged, and the cars collided with the Ferrari coming right through the back of the Red Bull.

The German finished 16th after the incident, and received a meaningless 10-second time penalty, but he reckons Verstappen will appreciate the apology ahead of the punishment.

“Of course initially I thought there was a gap and the gap closed but after some laps I realised it was my mistake so I went up to Max and told him what I thought,” Vettel said.

“That for me counts more than any stewards’ decision to be honest.

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Even though it was a clear misjudgement, Vettel went on to provide reasoning for his actions, which he thought were the right course of action at the time.

“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 misjudgement from my side.”

After the collision, Vettel finished 16th for his only non-points finish so far this season, while Verstappen limped to fifth.

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