Sebastian Vettel has labelled Lewis Hamilton ‘stupid’ for delaying his progress when a lap down in Sunday’s German Grand Prix. The 2008 World Champion had lost a significant amount of ground after picking up a puncture in the early stages of the race.
While challenging Fernando Alonso for victory but being caught by the other McLaren of Jenson Button, Vettel was passed by Hamilton on Lap 35. The German’s frustration was clear, as he twice waved a hand at the Englishman who was quicker at that point.
The moment helped Button jump Vettel for second place at the next round of pit-stops; Vettel retook the position on the penultimate lap, but is under investigation for an illegal overtake.
“That wasn’t nice of Lewis – I don’t see why he was racing us,” Vettel told reporters in the paddock. “If he wants to go fast like that, then he should drop back and find a gap. It was stupid to battle with us when he was a lap down…if you want to go quick in those circumstances, you should respect that you have no chance to win the race and use some common sense. I didn’t expect him to attack because I didn’t see the point in doing so – so I was surprised when I saw him side-by-side with me.”
The comments mark the second time this season that Vettel has outwardly labelled a rival as ‘stupid’. In Malaysia, he ran into HRT’s Narain Karthikeyan and also named the Indian ‘cucumber’ when referring to a German proverb in the aftermath of the race.
Post-race development at Hockenheim:
Vettel docked 20 seconds, drops to fifth
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:31:05.862 |
| 2. | J. Button | McLaren | +6.949 |
| 3. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | +16.409 |
| 4. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +21.925 |
| 5. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +23.732 |
| 6. | S. Perez | Sauber | +27.896 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +28.970 |
| 8. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +46.491 |
| 9. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +48.162 |
| 10. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +48.889 |
| Full results | |||
| Sebastian Vettel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Sebastian Vettel photos | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
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| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||
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