Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Vettel: Raikkonen DNF harsh after recent 'bullshit'

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Sebastian Vettel says he feels sorry team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire from the Hungarian Grand Prix following recent "bullshit" regarding his future.

Raikkonen has struggled to match Vettel's form so far this season, which has led to speculation over his future in F1 as Ferrari deliberates over whether to offer the Finn a new contract. In Hungary, both drivers made excellent starts to run first and second early on, pulling away from the field behind.

While Vettel duly went on to take victory, Raikkonen was hit by a power unit problem which forced him to retire from what had been a comfortable second place and Vettel was disappointed his team-mate couldn't secure the strong result his performance deserved.

"I think it looked pretty promising off the line," Vettel said. "Obviously it was a great move from Kimi. Obviously he started another row back and we managed to be one-two after the first couple of corners. So I guess he did a hell of a job to get these Mercedes in the first two corners.

"Yeah, then I was told during the safety car phase that he has a problem with the car. He lost the [MGU]-K and obviously then you’re pretty chanceless, you lose a lot of power and then all the systems start to misbehave, so in the end he didn’t finish.

"It’s a shame – because I think it could have been, first of all, a very, very strong team result and second, a one-two. A great day for Ferrari but not as great as it could have been. Obviously a bit of a shame for Kimi – it’s not my job but all the bullshit that’s been going around recently, I think both of us were driving a very consistent race and deserved a one-two."

REPORT: Vettel wins chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix from Kvyat

Click here for F1i's driver ratings following the Hungarian Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.