Häkkinen understands Vettel's move on Verstappen: "He had to try it"

Two-time Formula One champion Mika Häkkinen has expressed his sympathies for Sebastian Vettel's move on Max Verstappen which caused the German to spin, saying that he simply had to go for it with the championship at stake.

In the opening phase of the Japanese Grand Prix, Vettel was overtaking cars for fun, as he knew he had to make up ground to the Mercedes cars quickly if he wanted to have a chance of winning. Up until P4, he had clean overtakes, but when he made a move on Verstappen, it all went wrong. 

He dove down the Dutchman's inside but was left without any room, clipping the Red Bull and spinning out, effectively ending his race.

While many pundits have criticized Vettel for this move, Häkkinen has stuck his neck out to defend the four-time champion, sympathising with the situation he's currently in.

"He had to try it," the Finn is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

"Otherwise, the Mercedes would have been gone.

"In his situation, he had to take every risk - I can understand Seb."