Vettel threw away 'easy' win, say Mercedes
Vettel threw away 'easy' win, say Mercedes
Toto Wolff said Sebastian Vettel lost an "easy" win at the Circuit of the Americas in his first-lap collision with Daniel Ricciardo that spun him towards the rear of the pack. Lewis Hamilton was beaten into third by Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen, but Vettel was not in place to capitalise on a below-par day for Mercedes.
The title fight between Hamilton and Vettel rolls on to Mexico, but the reigning champion gained further ground on the Ferrari man, who must win the remaining three races and hope Hamilton only scores four points across them.
Raikkonen's victory came as Ferrari rediscovered the pace which had made Vettel seem a title favourite earlier in the season – but Wolff said the victory ought to have been the German's.
"This has been the most difficult season so far," he said.
"The whole season you could see two or three races were going in our favour, then Ferrari was again very strong and then we had a good run and now Ferrari had a very good weekend.
"I imagine if Sebastian had not spun out in lap one then he probably would have won the race easy."
It was revealed in Austin, Texas that Ferrari gained pace by removing upgrades that had slowed them in Singapore, Russia and Japan and Wolff says the Silver Arrows had always expected their rivals to regain their mojo.
Sunday at @COTA #USGP pic.twitter.com/wdbFZ3bUTg — Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 22, 2018
He said: "In the media, somebody has a run with good races and he's world champion and the greatest on the planet and the other ones are the biggest idiots on the planet and you write them off. But that's not how Formula 1 runs.
"It's cyclical: You have a good momentum, you win a race, two or three and then it bites you and it bit us.
"And that was always something we expected and it's honestly tiring to sit out there and discuss about winning trophies when the bloody trophy's not won.
"They are a strong group of racers – they have won many races, they deserve the respect of still being able to compete with us and today they were stronger and they won it. Now we need to keep our calm and go to Mexico and perform."
MORE: Raikkonen 'very happy' to be leaving Ferrari
MORE: Hamilton will 'burn out' and RETIRE - Stewart
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Sprint Qualifying Results: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 times as Mercedes struggle again
- 6 minutes ago
F1 Results Today: Chinese Grand Prix practice times as SURPRISE driver tops charts
- 3 hours ago
Another bizarre fire STOPS action at Chinese Grand Prix
- 1 minute ago
EXCLUSIVE: Hamilton and Ferrari chief had meals together years before 2025 signing
- 13 minutes ago
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- 17 minutes ago
Young F1 star set to make McLaren debut in injury replacement
- 43 minutes ago
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860