Vettel and Schumacher "should have done better" in Miami crash

Vettel, Aston Martin — Photo: © LAT Images

Miami Grand Prix

Vettel and Schumacher "should have done better" in Miami crash

The pair collided to deny each other points

Ewan Gale

Monday 9 May 2022 00:05

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Sebastian Vettel believes he and Mick Schumacher "should have done better" after their late contact denied both drivers points at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Aston Martin driver was forced to retire in the closing stages after Schumacher attempted to make up for a mistake at turn 17 with a move down the inside at the first corner, only to take both drivers out of the top 10.

It would have been the Haas driver's first points of his F1 career.

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The two Germans have enjoyed a close relationship since Schumacher entered the sport, with Vettel mentoring his compatriot as the Haas driver's father Michael had to the four-time world champion when he made the step to F1.

Addressing the incident, Vettel said: "It is obviously a shame we both made contact and both missed scoring points.

"We should have done better, I need to look again."

The incident was a cruel blow to Vettel who had made his way from a pit lane start after Aston Martin struggled to regulate its fuel temperature pre-race, failing to reach a prescribed minimum temperature.

"We had a problem with our fuel system and couldn't make it out in time," explained Vettel. "It was surprising but once we figured it out we were fine to start."

Aston Martin "a bit better" - Vettel

Aston Martin's pace was much improved in Miami despite failing to score having rode the wave of momentum from a double-points finish at Imola last time out.

On the improvements made, Vettel suggested: "I think it was a bit better today. I was in traffic more or less the whole race but we were definitely a bit faster but hard to say right now."

"It was tricky. Overtaking was difficult because the DRS effect isn't that big, to be honest.

The Miami track surface had caused issues across the weekend but Vettel evaluated: "It was ok, we have worse races."