Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel labelled himself as “a bit unfortunate” after picking up front-wing damage on the opening lap of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Vettel started from the front row of the grid but was overhauled by Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, who swept across from the outside line, tagging the German’s front wing.
Vettel’s early stop committed him to a two-stop strategy, and he recovered through the field to take fourth, passing both Force India drivers during the closing stages.
“Three cars into Turn 1 doesn't work,” said Vettel. “I had a bit of a poor position, I need to have a look, maybe I could have done better.
“I was stuck… with Lewis in front, I couldn't really brake any deeper, otherwise I'd push him off, I had Valtteri on the left, and Max then suddenly appearing on the right.
“Max saw his gap, fair enough, and ran over my front wing, which you don't do on purpose, because the chance of a puncture is very high.
“In the end I was the one who had damage, which was a bit unfortunate."
Vettel finished just six-tenths behind third-placed Daniel Ricciardo and reckoned he was one lap short of the podium, as he finished outside the top two for the first time in 2017.
“I wanted to get a trophy and I didn't get one,” he said. “Obviously the beginning of the race didn't go our way, but I was still believing that we could fight back and probably get a podium.
“At the end, when I came back to that group, I was fairly confident, but [I was] one lap short.”
