Sebastian Vettel feels he let down Ferrari when he failed to keep his frustrations in check and purposefully ran in to Lewis Hamilton.

In the Azerbaijan GP in June, Vettel was closely following the Mercedes driver during a Safety Car period when he believed his rival had brake-tested him.

The German moved up alongside Hamilton and barged into the side of his car, a move which earned him a 10-second stop-and-go penalty and an investigation from the FIA.

He ultimately escaped any further sanctions but in hindsight believes the episode was worse than the team's recent double disaster in Singapore, when both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen paid a heavy price for the former's defensive move at the start of the race.

"I think Baku was worse," Vettel said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.

"I felt I let the team down, because something that I did obviously cost a race win potentially.

"So I think in Singapore, to be honest, the way I look at it, it’s racing and it happens.

"Obviously it is extremely unfortunate, but I don’t know how many start crashes there have been in the past and there will be in the future.

"If you happen to be inside them, it always sucks. There is no better way to describe. Did it come in a good time? No. Is there any ever a good time for this to happen? Probably not.

"So it doesn’t matter. It happened. We cannot control it. We need to focus on what we have in our hands and try to focus on things we can control."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Honda confirms F1 power unit upgrade timeline

Honda is preparing to deliver a crucial Formula 1 power unit upgrade for Aston Martin…

1 hour ago

British GP 1973: Revson's first and Scheckter's worst

The 1973 British Grand Prix that took place at Silverstone on this day 53 years…

3 hours ago

Piastri explains why and when McLaren car’s weakness is exposed

Oscar Piastri believes McLaren’s inconsistent performances this season are partly rooted in a specific external…

4 hours ago

Vasseur: No ‘game-changer’ behind Hamilton turnaround

Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable turnaround at Ferrari has been one of the defining stories of the…

5 hours ago

Binotto sets 2030 title target as Audi plots Formula 1 rise

Audi F1 boss Mattia Binotto has reiterated the long-term vision for the German manufacturer’s Formula…

6 hours ago

Alonso out, Crawford in for Belgian GP opening practice

Fernando Alonso will watch the opening practice session of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix from…

23 hours ago