Sebastian Vettel was making a great comeback in the sprint race in Austria, but as he approached the top-10, it all came crashing down when he was touched by Alexander Albon
Sebastian Vettel came from last on the grid in the sprint race in Austria to get close to the points zone, but he left this Saturday (9) virtually empty-handed. In addition to not scoring any points, the German will start from practically the same place in Sunday's main race. Vettel was touched by Alexander Albon and his car was damaged.
Seb won't be last on the grid only because Fernando Alonso didn't even start in the sprint race, due to problems, and Valtteri Bottas will start from the back of the line because he changed his engine. Vettel, then, will be 18th. And the German understands that Albon has a good share of blame in this.
"I think Albon was a bit optimistic in that fight of ours in turn 6 and ended up hitting me, which cost me a chance to start in a good position tomorrow. I even managed to get out of the gravel, but the car had damage. So tomorrow I'll start almost where I started today," he said.
Vettel regretted that his chances in Austria were greatly reduced by the touch, especially since he had been on a good upswing in Saturday's race.
"It's a shame because we progressed well in the first few laps and I think starting on soft was the right call today. We still have a long race ahead of us, we will try to recover," he added.
Vettel is 13th in the Drivers' World Championship, with 15 points so far. Lance Stroll, his Aston Martin teammate, has only 3.
+ DRIVERS' AND CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD STANDINGS AFTER THE GP OF AUSTRIA SPRINT RACE