zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Sebastian Vettel Just Won't Let This Minor Formula One Collision Go
Sebastian Vettel Just Won't Let This Minor Formula One Collision Go-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:32

Ferrari Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel’s version of a post-race spat is somehow incredibly tame and hilariously immature all at the same wonderful time. After complaining about a first-lap incident all throughout the Chinese Grand Prix, both he and the target of his rage end up on the podium.

Russian chuckles ensue.

Here’s where Vettel—erm, well. I’d really hesitate to call this a fight since Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat does such a stellar job of shrugging and laughing it off. This is more like a one-sided prolonged whine meant to be savored and appreciated. Here’s the part right before the podium ceremony where Vettel blames Kvyat for all of his problems.

Race winner Nico Rosberg performed a repeat performance of his race by promptly running away from these jamokes. Rosberg got out in front and ended the day with over 38 seconds separating him from second place finisher Vettel.

“You came in like a torpedo!” said Vettel to Kyvat, gesticulating like an angry mother.

“I was racing,” Kvyat said back, pointing out the obvious. Torpedo-like speed is generally what you go for during a race—bless your heart.

Vettel telling Kvyat “you were lucky this time” as he’s taking off the top of his racing suit almost feels like he’s trying to be Mister Tough Guy, but good grief. Vettel is a guy I like precisely because he’s a bit of a nerd. The same lovable mischievous German who admits to liking Monty Python puffing up all macho-like is a threat more hollow than my sad, meaningless life.

In case you missed this morning’s race, here’s how ridiculous it is for Seb to still be fuming mad at the end of it. It all started with this fairly tame first-lap contact.

That’s it. No one was hurt. No one’s race was over. Everyone made it back into the pits just fine for repairs. Curiously, there weren’t even any retirements during the entire race.

Regardless, Vettel ended up wedged between Red Bull of Daniil Kyvat and the Ferrari of his teammate Kimi Räikkönen. It was one of many racing incidents on the first lap, and it was just that: a racing incident, caused by too many cars trying to funnel into the same space.

Räikkönen tried to turn into the corner, and Kvyat was on the inside of Vettel. Vettel really didn’t have much room between the two cars and tapped Räikkönen in the chaos. Vettel likely felt plenty of shame for colliding with his own teammate now that he’s on his own personal F1 dream team, hence all of his commentary afterwards.

Räikkönen then collided with Kvyat after Vettel ran into him, and he didn’t even seem to be bothered by it. This is Kimi.

There is absolutely nothing that can kill Kimi Räikkönen’s chill. I’ve never seen a man deal with a

The stewards took no action for anything at the start, as they didn’t see any egregious errors to act upon. Vettel was quick to place the blame on the driver who wasn’t in a Ferrari over this team radio, though.

“I made contact, I had no chance to avoid the Red Bull coming on the inside like a madman,” he said, as quoted by .

Vettel seemed weirdly frustrated and feisty throughout this race, though. When he pitted under an to replace the front wing damaged at the start, he was too impatient to wait for Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. to putter down the pit lane entry. So, he made a move to pass the two cars on the pit lane entry road.

This was actually kind of awesome, not going to lie. Hülkenberg was later given a five-second time penalty for holding people up in pit lane.

That being said, after Ferrari installed a new wing after Vettel’s first-lap incident, Vettel damaged his front wing again in contact with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. Vettel later claimed that he didn’t notice that he’d made contact with Bottas in his post-race podium interview with German broadcast personality and Kai Ebel. How do you not notice that you’re again? Surely it affected the aero-dependent F1 car’s handling.

And of course, Vettel kept snipping at Kvyat over his team radio. As quoted by Motorsport.com: “Kvyat’s attack was suicidal, no way with the speed he had he would’ve done the corner.”

Even at the end of the race, Vettel just wouldn’t let it go.

“Massive apologies to the team, and surely I didn’t do it on purpose, and I feel really sorry for Kimi,” Vettel radioed over after his team congratulated him on a great recovery drive. “There was nothing I could do. Kyvat came like a torpedo, and I had to react, and there was no way out.”

Vettel may have kept kvetching over the first-lap incident to Ebel during the podium interviews, but it appears as though Kvyat got the real last laugh with the champagne.

Stop taking yourself so seriously, Seb. We adore you the most when you’re at all.

Full race results for the Chinese Grand Prix can be found, and a transcript of Vettel and Kvyat’s post-race hilarity can be found .

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
Formula One Won't Give Up On The 2020 Season Until October
Formula One Won't Give Up On The 2020 Season Until October
The 2020 Formula One season schedule originally had a massive 22 race weekends on the board, but nine of those have already been cancelled or postponed (and a tenth, the French Grand Prix, on deck). As the motorsport community continues to spiral in the wake of the covid-19 international...
Jul 9, 2025
Next-Gen NASCAR Debut Delayed A Year
Next-Gen NASCAR Debut Delayed A Year
’s next-generation prototype car was supposed to debut in full at next year’s Daytona 500, but delays in development due to the novel coronavirus have pushed those plans back another year. Here’s the statement from John Probst, Senior VP of Racing Innovation for NASCAR: Due to challenges related to...
Jul 9, 2025
Allow This McLaren M1B's Buttery V8 To Soothe Your Soul
Allow This McLaren M1B's Buttery V8 To Soothe Your Soul
Has there ever been a cooler series than Group 7 in the mid-to-late 1960s? Back then the way to build a fast car was to shove a big American V8 in a lightweight and nimble European chassis and jam the loud pedal as often as possible. The cars were...
Jul 9, 2025
Formula One's 2020 Season Continues To Dissolve
Formula One's 2020 Season Continues To Dissolve
Following the absolute omnishambles that was (above), has been postponed or cancelled an additional eight rounds. The Canadian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for June 14th, is the latest of them to fall victim to the coronavirus global pandemic. Of the 22 grands prix originally on the schedule, now only...
Jul 9, 2025
Enjoy This Huge Stash Of Rad 1980s and '90s Rally Videos
Enjoy This Huge Stash Of Rad 1980s and '90s Rally Videos
Weren’t you just saying you wish you knew where to find hours and hours of sweet old video clips featuring really rad cars from the 1980s and ’90s? Well... you’re welcome. The YouTube channel “” has you covered. If you want to just sit and relax and be amazed,...
Jul 9, 2025
89-Year-Old Bernie Ecclestone Still Fucks, Fourth Child Due This Summer
89-Year-Old Bernie Ecclestone Still Fucks, Fourth Child Due This Summer
Former Formula One boss and billionaire ghoul of note has confirmed that his 44-year-old wife of 8 years Fabiana Flosi is with child. This will be Ecclestone’s first child with his third wife. His eldest, Deborah (65), was born to his first wife Ivy Bamford before having two further...
Jul 9, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved