Sebastian Vettel described the Italian Grand Prix as a “missed opportunity” after he lost places on a frenetic opening lap at Monza.
Vettel initially gained places but ran side-by-side with Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll through Lesmo 1, allowing both Alpines to pass, while that also compromised his line for Lesmo 2.
Vettel was then passed on the exit of the corner by Nicholas Latifi.
While Stroll went on to finish in seventh position Vettel was left down in 12th, having also been overhauled through the Safety Car phase by George Russell.
“I lost a lot of positions, and once I lost those positions it was clear to me that the race was lost,” he said.
“We went in [to the race] in a position where we needed to overtake people but we had low speed on the straights. It was difficult, we also stopped before the Safety Car, so, not our day.
“I think it was a missed opportunity. I need to see what I could have done differently but I think I did what I could. I avoided the crash in T5, I’ll surely look at it again but it’s disappointing.”
Vettel was also involved in a battle with Alfa Romeo stand-in Robert Kubica.
“It was good fun,” said Vettel. “Robert had pretty much the fastest car on the straights but he wasn’t so quick on the corners, and for us it was the opposite: fast on the corners but slow on the straights, so it was very difficult to pass him.
“I managed, in the end, trying to play with the energy, trying to read his pattern, but it didn’t make a big difference.”
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