Speaking in the wake of today's Italian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel blamed Lewis Hamilton for the first lap clash which saw the two touch, causing damage to the Ferrari and necessitating an early pit stop for a new nose.

"Lewis obviously saw a little gap around the outside," he told Sky Sports F1. "But then he didn't leave me any space and I had no other choice than to run into him and make contact.

"I tried to obviously get out of there but I couldn't," the German continued. "Unfortunately I was the one that spun around, which was a bit ironic. But it was that way."

In the eyes of many it was in fact the German who made the mistake, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg initially claiming the incident was "100% Vettel's fault". Following a subsequent replay, the former Mercedes driver, and no fan of Hamilton, said it was actually "110% Vettel's fault".

"When you're looking the wrong way, things do not look too peachy," said Vettel. "But from there I think I drove well and tried to recover. We still got a lot of points so it could have been a lot worse today.

"Obviously it doesn't help when you lose points," he admitted, "but it's not the end of the world. We'll all still wake up tomorrow morning. For sure, I'm down at the moment but mostly for the people. Their support has been incredible. Unfortunately we didn't deliver.

"But then what can you do when if get spun round? It could have been a good race, but it wasn't. It was still very entertaining, probably more entertaining that way, but not very satisfying."

Asked about the thirty point deficit to Hamilton, he said: "I'm not too worried. I think we have the pace. The points sound a lot but actually it doesn't take a long time to get them down."

Following a second stop for fresh rubber the German finished fifth on the road but inherited 4th following the time penalty meted out to Max Verstappen following his clash with Valtteri Bottas.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Tardis40, 03/09/2018 22:43

"I'm a Ferrari/Vettel fan and I have to disagree. This one is completely on Seb.

And it's so dumb. We have the faster car. Let Hamilton go, you'll get him later on."

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 03/09/2018 11:00

"Sorry Seb, but this was utterly clear-cut.
If you genuinely believe what you said, I think you need to consult your optician, and in the light of recent events, this is not sarcasm.

Vettel's decision-making and mind-set both come into question here. He was in a car that was substantially quicker than Hamilton, and as his "No.2" driver showed, places lost could relatively easily be regained, at least with decent tyres.
Kimi also showed that you don't have to crash every time someone tries to overtake (Verstappen please take note). Kimi's early move on Lewis, and Hamilton's subsequent re-overtake later in the race were text-book examples of how "proper" racing drivers can do it.

It looks like the Ferrari is now significantly quicker than the Mercedes. It is likely therefore that Vettel will only rarely be challenged, and his inadequacies and failings will not come into play. It will probably be a tough fight, but barring mechanical failures Vettel should easily become Champion in 2018."

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3. Posted by Oldgit, 02/09/2018 23:45

"Waaa! Waaa! Mummy the bad man pushed me off the road and hit me !

Grow up Seb and accept that you are not a perfect driver and sometimes you make a mistake. Or do you still think that Mark Webber crashed into you in Istanbul and that Hamilton break tested you in Baku.
"

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4. Posted by Jet Jockey, 02/09/2018 17:48

"Come on Seb… You are just seeing red... You are still pissed off that Kimi beat you to the pole yesterday and are mad that Ferrari did not revert to team orders in Q3 so that you could get a tow from Kimi to get the pole.

Today you were still seeing red at the start of the race and you were still too emotional and messed up in the corner leaving the door wide open on the outside of the corner and Lewis simply took it and was 3/4 of a car length ahead of you when you understeered right into his car... Sorry but it's all on you."

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Vettel: He didn't leave me any space

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