Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack was left ruing what he believes what he believes was a mistake from Mick Schumacher after Sebastian Vettel was denied points in Miami.
Having started from the pit lane due to a fuel issue, both Vettel and Lance Stroll had made excellent recoveries towards the top 10, and Vettel was running in ninth after a mistake rom Schumacher at Turn 17 allowed him through.
In his haste to earn the place back, the Haas driver went for a dive to the inside of the 34-year-old into Turn One, hitting Vettel’s sidepod and spinning him out of the race.
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The damage incurred to the Haas ultimately meant that Schumacher has now gone 27 race entries without scoring any points, and he said after the race that he would need to see an alternative angle to decipher who was at fault.
“It’s hard to say and hard to judge from inside the car so I will have to wait and see how it looks from the outside,” he told Sky Sports.
“It will be good for also to understand what Seb thinks about it, we just have to move on from here.
“It’s nice that I can learn from him and he so valuable to me as Friend and obviously we are all racers.”
Vettel and Schumacher are good friends away from the racetrack, and Vettel laments the fact that their “stupid” accident cost them both a chance at a top 10 finish.
“I’m disappointed for Mick and myself,” he said after the race.
“The two of us lost a good opportunity to score points today.
“I did not expect him, I need to have a look again. When I saw him it was obviously too late,” added Vettel, affirming that he was “looking for” his compatriot to talk things out.
Krack had a slightly less diplomatic perspective, pinning the responsibility on Schumacher for an “over-zealous” move.
“[Vettel] was in ninth place, which would have meant valuable championship points. Unfortunately, Seb then dropped out through no fault of his own when he met the over-zealous Schumacher,” he told Auto Bild.
The German confirmed that Stroll’s tenth-placed qualifying had been undone by an issue getting the fuel up to temperature.
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“Before the race we had a fuel temperature issue that delayed our cars exiting the pits. This meant that both drivers had to start the race from the pit lane,” he divulged.
The collision for his team-mate, as well as incidents for Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, ultimately helped Stroll on his way to secure a single point at the end of a difficult afternoon for the Silverstone side.