Vettel lays the blame on Hamilton for first lap clash

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Sebastian Vettel believes arch-rival Lewis Hamilton simply did not leave him the space he needed when the pair made contact at the second chicane on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix.

The German driver held his own on the run down to Turn 1 shortly after the start, hot on the heels of team mate Kimi Raikkonen and with Hamilton snapping at his heels.

The trio rushed through the Curva Grande in formation but on the approach to the Variante della Roggia, Hamilton went for the outside line and gained an edge over Vettel.

Hamilton works hard to take Monza win over Raikkonen

The Ferrari driver then drifted into the side of the Mercedes and promptly spun around, leaving him at the tail end of the field and a massive amount of work to do for the remainder of the afternoon.

"He didn't leave me any space," said Vettel after the race.

"I had no other choice but to run into him and make contact. I tried obviously to get out from there, but I couldn't.

"Unfortunately I was the one that spun around, a bit ironic, but then I was looking the wrong way and things weren't looking too peachy."

It was obviously a bad break for Vettel who underlined otherwise the good performance of his SF71-H.

"From there I think we drove well and tried to recover," he added.

"We still got a lot of points so it could have been a lot worse. It doesn't help when you lose points but it's not the end of the world.

"We're down at the moment, mostly for the fans, but their support has been incredible.

"Unfortunately we didn't deliver. What can you do. I got spun round and there's not much you can do. I'm not too worried.

"We have the pace, okay the points gap sounds a lot, but we can get it back."

As unworried as he may be, Vettel still conceded 13 points to Hamilton in the drivers' standings, and currently sits 30 points adrift from the Brit with seven races remaining on the calendar.

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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.