Sebastian Vettel insists he ‘won’t have difficultly sleeping’ following his crash while leading the German Grand Prix that ultimately cost the Ferrari driver an almost certain win on home soil.
After clinching his first pole at Hockenheim since 2010 on Saturday, Vettel looked odds on to bag back-to-back victories at the mid-stage of the season, as he led a Ferrari one-two heading in to the final stages of the race.
However, rain drops began to fall at various parts of the circuit, making conditions extremely treacherous, and Vettel was caught out by a damp patch in the stadium section that caused him to slide across the gravel trap and into the barrier.
A dejected four-time world champion lamented his mistake, but was adamant it wouldn’t have an affect on him mentally in a closely-fought championship battle.
Asked if he was able to process the disappointment of crashing from the lead of his home race, Vettel told TV crews: “I was in the barrier, and I realise I don’t get out from there, so how do you process that?
“I don’t think it was a huge mistake, it was a huge impact on the race because we retired.
“But it’s not like tonight I will have difficulties to fall asleep because of what I’ve done wrong.
“It’s disappointing because up to that point everything was sweet. We didn’t need the rain.”
The German’s main championship rival Lewis Hamilton overcame a hydraulic failure in qualifying – that left him 14th on the grid, to win on Mercedes’ home circuit, but despite the pain of losing victory and the championship lead, Vettel was buoyed by Ferrari’s pace going forward.
“We have a strong car, so we can be as confident, more confident than anybody else,” he added.
“It was a very positive weekend, just one of those moments, and my mistake.
“Apologies to the team, they did everything right and I had it in my hands. Small mistake, big disappointment.”
