It’s fair to say that Sebastian Vettel is still very much not over the 2019 Canadian GP, after joking with reporter Lee Mckenzie that he won that particular race.
Whilst still driving for Ferrari at the time, Vettel was awarded a five-second penalty which saw him finish the race in second.
The penalty was awarded after the German ran-off the circuit at Turn 3, and was deemed to have squeezed Sir Lewis Hamilton into the wall at Turn 4 after rejoining ‘unsafely’.
The exchange with the reporter came after an impressive Azerbaijan GP for the four-time World Champion.
It was Vettel’s best weekend of the season by far, after the Aston Martin F1 Team driver finished in 6th place.
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Vettel should’ve been battling for Pierre Gasly for 5th, however, the German made a costly error whilst trying to overtake Esteban Ocon.
The 34-year-old out-braked himself and went into the run-off area at Turn 3, whilst on the outside of the French driver.
Despite the mistake, it was a strong weekend for Vettel who scored a solid haul of points.
Vettel was pleased to have been battling amongst the better midfield runners, as the German discussed his race post GP.
“We were faster than Alfa Romeo and matched Alpine and Alpha Tauri, and that changes the game for us a little bit,” Vettel explained.
“The team did an amazing pit-stop, which enabled me to jump Lewis [Hamilton],” he said.
“After that, I was sure I had got past Esteban [Ocon], but I thought he would battle more for the position, so I took to the escape road and lost some time.
“Without that incident, I think I could have fought for fifth position. Nevertheless, this is a great result.”
Vettel will be hoping that the strong form continues at this weekend’s Canadian GP, where as mentioned the German is still very much not over the events that took place three years ago.
“I had nowhere to go. They are stealing the race from us,” he insisted at the time.
The incident saw one of the most famous parc férme moments in the modern history of the sport, when Vettel swapped his number 2 board with Hamilton’s number 1.
His actions were met with huge cheers from his Ferrari team and the fans in attendance.
“I won there last time round,” Vettel responded when asked about the upcoming race in Canada.
“Last time round?” a confused Mckenzie respond.
“You know, where I got the penalty,” Vettel clarified with the reporter.
Mckenzie then grabbed hold of the German’s frosty reference and responded by saying:
“When you moved the board? Still a bit of anarchy there,” Mckenzie questioned Vettel.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this weekend’s race in Canada will be the first since the now famous incident.
Whilst victory is highly unlikely, Vettel will be hoping not to make the same mistake during the race at Turn 3.