Sebastian Vettel mentioned System One was fortunate to keep away from “a unique final result” when Lando Norris crashed out of qualifying in moist situations in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Vettel was livid qualifying was allowed to proceed when it began to rain heavier initially of Q3 and radioed his Aston Martin crew that the session must be red-flagged because of the quantity of standing water on the circuit.
Shortly after his message, McLaren driver Norris misplaced management of his automotive on the strategy to the uphill Eau Rouge nook and crashed closely into the limitations.
When instructed of the purple flag on the time, Vettel mentioned on the radio: “Yeah? Properly what the f– did I say? What did I say!? Crimson flags! Pointless.”
Vettel was the following automotive by means of Eau Rouge and he slowed alongside Norris’ wrecked automotive to examine the English driver was OK, with each drivers giving one another a thumbs up.
Norris climbed out of his automotive and reported he was OK, though he has been despatched to hospital for X-rays to his elbow, which he was holding as he walked away from the automotive.
Vettel, who mentioned he spoke to FIA race director Michael Masi after the session, mentioned F1 wanted to do a greater job in such conditions.
“I feel Michael” [Masi] isn’t pleased with what occurred both,” Vettel instructed Sky Sports activities.
“It is at all times straightforward to play Captain Hindsight. I feel we have to discover a means that we pay attention extra to the data that we now have. Contained in the storage, it’s extremely restricted, it is like searching of a window. Three kilometers that means, I’ve no clue.
“Once I went right down to Eau Rouge and up the hill, it was a whole lot of water and was calling for a purple flag. The reality is, the session shouldn’t have began in any respect. So I feel the those that had been standing on the Kemmel Striaght, they had been within the rain and possibly we must always have listened to these.”
When requested if he was indignant at Masi for not stopping the session, Vettel mentioned: “Indignant… I feel it’s extremely troublesome to [be]… it is at all times straightforward afterwards.
“However the primary factor is that we discovered from what occurred. It might have been a unique final result with the crash. I feel we had been fortunate that nothing dangerous occurred.”
Vettel added that he felt “huge” aid when Norris signaled that he was OK instantly after the crash.
Vettel felt Norris was powerless to do forestall the crash within the situations.
“There have been issues we might have performed higher, it is higher to be secure one time too many than one time too little,” Vettel mentioned.
“It is good that nothing occurred, that is the primary information, nevertheless it might’ve been a unique final result for Lando. I am unsure there’s something he might’ve performed.
“After all, we’re in management and you may say ‘when you really feel unsafe, field.’ But it surely’s type of a bizarre scenario as a result of everyone seems to be in the identical scenario and you do not wish to get kicked out [of qualifying], you wish to progress. That call should not solely be as much as us.
“We delayed the session initially when there was much less water so I am not solely positive why we simply did not begin the session. As I mentioned, it is at all times straightforward [to say] afterwards, however the primary factor is it does not occur once more.”