Vettel sees no fight in team: 'A lap later we did work together'

Sebastian Vettel has reacted calmly to the collision with his teammate Lance Stroll in the sprint race. Speaking to Viaplay after the sprint, the four-time world champion focused mainly on the performance of the car and not on the high-profile incident between the two Aston Martin drivers.

The final sprint race of the season saw no less than two confrontations between teammates. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon clashed twice and were forced back into the backfield. Even more striking was the battle between Vettel and Stroll. Vettel tried to overtake his teammate but Stroll wanted no part of it and pushed Vettel onto the grass. Stroll received a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points on his licence for the action. Yet Vettel does not seem to have any rancour towards his teammate.

"Obviously it was very close, in the end, but you know, maybe it was a misunderstanding," Vettel said. "I went for the inside and then the gap closed and I was sort of half on the grass and it was difficult to recover. But a lap later we decided to work together."

The car seems to be more important to Vettel than the collision

Vettel soon decided to change the subject to the car's performance. "I seemed to have more pace. I think I looked after the tyres quite good in that race and I seemed to have strong pace especially in the end. If we have the same sort of pace and manage the tyres well, then hopefully in the race we can score some points."

Vettel eventually closed the sprint race in ninth place, just outside the points. However, it is a good starting position for the German as he chases Valtteri Bottas. Among drivers, Vettel is still just seven points behind the Finn; among constructors, Alfa Romeo still has a narrow four-point lead over Aston Martin.