Vettel and Raikkonen dismiss 'silly' Mercedes talk of foul play

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Sebastian Vettel labeled as "silly" suggestions that Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen had deliberately hit Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of Sunday's British Grand Prix.

An obviously disappointed Hamilton, who had charged back from last to secure second at the end of the day, qualified as "interesting tactics" Raikkonen's mishap when the Finn locked up at Turn 3 and spun the Mercedes around.

A visibly annoyed Toto Wolff also called into question the move, conveying Mercedes' tech boss James Allison's view that the move was either deliberate or incompetent.

Mercedes camp sees Ferrari's maneuvers as 'deliberate or incompetent'!

Vettel dismissed the words coming out of the Mercedes camp however.

"Things can happen, but I think it's quite silly to think that anything that happened was deliberate," he said.

"At least I would struggle to be that precise in order to take someone out. In France I lost my wing so I screwed my own race.

"I think it's easy to attack and have a great move, and easy to have an incident. I only saw it briefly, and I don't think there was any intention. I find it a bit unnecessary to even go there."

Raikkonen, the culprit of the mishap, and who owned up to his mistake, was equally dismissive of his rivals' comments.

"Funnily enough you start blaming us for doing it on purpose but I locked the wheel, unfortunately we touched and we both paid the price for it and that's how it goes sometimes," said the Finn.

"It's easy to say after the last couple of races that we're suddenly doing something against them, but we've been hit pretty hard many times also, so that's how it goes, unfortunately."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.