Vettel: 47 laps of positive, one turn of negative

Sebastian Vettel has claimed that he was left with no other choice but to try a tricky move on Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and added that he was happy he tried it even if it didn't come off.

In a topsy-tursy race, Vettel had been the clear pace-setter for the first half of the race, but a series of safety cars brought Mercedes back into contention, and when the race restarted with four laps remaining, Bottas stole a march on Vettel to edge in front.

The German tried to respond by braking late to edge back in front, but ran wide allowing both Bottas and Lewis Hamilton to move in front. After Bottas' late puncture, Hamilton was left with a clear track to march onto an unlikely victory.

When asked about the move, Vettel told the waiting media that he had no regrets and, given the position of his car to those around him, could not have chosen another course of action.

He said: "It’s easy to say it didn’t work, so it is the wrong thing, but I had to try. We can’t let one or two seconds from the race have a view of the full race, because there are a lot of positives.

“With that flatspot, I tried to get back to the Force India. First I had to reshuffle a little bit and understand what the car balance was like with that flatspot. They [Force India] were quick on the straights, then [Perez] had a tow from the cars ahead, and I did not really have a chance to try something. Bit of a shame.

“Other than that I think it was a strong race, and that’s how it goes sometimes.

“Without the safety car it would have been easier for us – there is probably 47 laps of positive and maybe one turn without a positive note. It’s part of the game.”