(Reuters) – Sebastian Vettel described his disqualification from a second-placed finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix as “bitter” and called for more tolerance to be written into Formula One’s rules.
The German four-time champion crossed the line behind Alpine’s race-winning Frenchman Esteban Ocon to take what should have been his second podium finish for new team Aston Martin in the Aug. 1 race.
But he was excluded after his car was found not to have the mandatory litre of fuel to provide a post-race sample, elevating Mercedes’ championship leader Lewis Hamilton to second.
“It’s very bitter because, first, we did not have an advantage, second, there was no intention or no way that we could actually explain that too little fuel was in the car,” the 34-year-old told reporters via video conference at the Belgian Grand Prix.
“Looking back I think it’s clear – the rules are as they are and we got disqualified. “Looking forward … I understand better because I was the one who suffered from it, you don’t wish that to anyone else to happen and it should probably have a little bit more tolerance.”
Aston Martin, seventh out of 10 teams in the overall standings, also lost out on crucial points in the midfield constructors’ battle. They initially sought a review of the disqualification. The request was dismissed by stewards and the Silverstone-based squad subsequently withdrew their appeal, believing that proceeding with it outweighed the benefits of it being heard.
Vettel, who has 122 career podiums but has finished in the top-three just twice since his win in the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix for Ferrari, said he had at least had a chance to go up on the podium to celebrate – albeit ultimately in vain.
“So you look back and you have nice memories but a bit of a bad taste left knowing that you got disqualified,” he said.
