Sebastian Vettel struggles to explain Bahrain spin

Bahrain GP

Vettel struggles to explain Bahrain spin

Hamilton took full advantage of the German's error.

Paul Macdonald

Sunday 31 March 2019 19:30 Updated: 20:02

A seething Sebastian Vettel bemoaned his race performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, after his spin following a battle with Lewis Hamilton cost him seven places and he would ultimately finish in fifth, three places down from his starting position on the grid.

The German had actually started in stupendous style, flying off the line to overtake Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to go into the lead.

However that proved short-lived, with Leclerc regaining his supremacy soon after and he went on to dominate proceedings until his ill-fated power failure meant he could only finish in third.

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A noticeably simmering Vettel, when asked to discuss the race as a whole, admitted that the race was not his most enjoyable experience.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: "[It was] Difficult. I think we all struggled at various points. I really struggled at the start of the race. On the medium tyre it was a bit better maybe. It was not the pace that I wanted to have today, not sure why and obviously on top I had a mistake with the spin, so not a good evening.

When asked about the windy conditions at the track, he added: "It didn't help. It was turning into a tailwind on that corner but I don't know maybe the fact that he was just ahead, being sheltered, I don't know, but I lost the car very suddenly and once I spun it was too late.

"It was unfortunate that we had so much damage with the tyres that it caused the front wing to fail, it was not great.

I think it was his race to take today so I'm happy for him and for the team but a disappointing day overall, starting from the front and not finishing there is not what we wanted."

From a one-two in qualifying Ferrari could ultimately only manage third and fifth, allowing Mercedes to record their second consecutive grand prix one-two.