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Formula 1 Malaysian GP
Vettel blames Stroll for "completely unnecessary" crash
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel says Williams rookie Lance Stroll was to blame for their "completely unnecessary" collision on the cool-down lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Charles Bradley
Edited: Oct 1, 2017, 11:44 AM
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Vettel had finished fourth, with Stroll eighth, as they came together at Turn 5.
The impact smashed the left-rear corner of Vettel's car – creating concerns over a potential gearbox replacement penalty for Suzuka.
Stewards reviewed the incident, but decided no further action was necessary.
"The Stewards consider that no driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the incident and will therefore take no further action," they said.
"The Stewards also consider that even though the race has ended, caution still needs to be exercised by all drivers on the slow-down lap."
Vettel, however, blamed Stroll for the incident.
"I went on the outside to pick up a bit of rubber," said Vettel. "I think Lance wasn't looking and wanted to do the same. I think he was looking at his [steering] wheel. I gave him enough room.
"But it was too late, I was there already, and then there was contact. Completely unnecessary. He just didn't look and decided to pick up some rubber."
When asked about the gearbox, he replied: "I don't know. We need to see, I'm sure they'll find a way… not my fault if someone just decides to pick up rubber and hit another car."
Stroll's view of the clash was that Vettel initiated the contact as he had "kept pushing".
"I was just shutting off the car, like to do the in-lap, and he just came around the outside and kept pushing," said Stroll. "Never happened to me before.
"I think we're gonna have to go the stewards. Just a very strange incident. The race wasn't going on so it wasn't intentional from either of us."
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