Vettel Exits Early After Opening Lap Crash in Malaysian GP

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief

Sebastian Vettel’s day came to an early end at the first corner of the Malaysian Grand Prix after hitting and sending Formula 1 championship leader Nico Rosberg into a spin, destroying his own car in the process.

The 29-year-old German had a blistering start from row three and climbed to the inside of Turn 1 with Max Verstappen on his right. The aggressive move was labeled “crazy” from the Red Bull Racing driver in a near repeat in reverse roles of the Belgian Grand Prix.

“I was going side by side, he (Verstappen) was squeezing me down the inside, he’s racing and both of us would have made the corner, no problem,” Vettel said.

“Obviously Nico (Rosberg) decided to do a different line, but he’s ahead, and doesn’t have to bother with what people are doing behind. There are two things that are wrong, Nico without any blame gets turned around, and I’m standing here and the race is still going on.”

In what could be seen as a simple racing incident, Vettel still acknowledged the difficulty in passing Verstappen.

“Racing him, he is always moving around, so everybody knows that by now,” Vettel continued. “When you’re squeezed to the inside, your angle doesn’t get any better for Turn 1.

“I was trying to do everything I could to get the corner, which I did, without braking massively too late. But Nico tried to cut back, I guess to fight Lewis, but at that point we made contact.”

About Joey Barnes 624 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

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