Angry Rossi blames rival team for pit delay

He claims he had the race “under control” until losing the lead to Vandoorne as they made their pitstops on the same lap. Rossi rejoined right behind the Belgian, who went on to win the race.

“Pitting on that lap was the right decision, and unfortunately the team that was in front of us [on the pitlane] had their pit equipment out quite a bit," he said. "I couldn’t get my car into the box.

“I was at very sharp angle as I came in and hit one of my tyres. It was enough to cost us the spot to Stoffel. That was our race. We all know how difficult it is to overtake around here.

“I gave Stoffel a push, but in staying close to him I used my fronts a little more than I wanted to, so I accepted the fact and brought it home.”

Rossi said he was inside a pre-planned safety car pitstop window, and running 20 laps on the supersoft tyre wasn’t a problem.

Setting sights on Vandoorne

After Vandoorne’s third win of the season in five races, Rossi knows that he has to start beating him soon.

“I’ve said it before, we’ve just got to start taking points off him,” he said. “They’re doing a great job, hats off to them, but we’re going to have to keep our heads down.”