Formula 1, Canada: Safety car problems for Sebastian Vettel

In his final Canada weekend of 2019, Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line first but lost the win to Lewis Hamilton due to a controversial 5-second penalty. The Canadian Grand Prix in 2022 was not a sense of accomplishment for the German either – and ended up in front of the same chief manager who was still punishing him at the time.

The weekend may not necessarily go according to Sebastian Vettel’s plan. Not just because Alberta’s energy minister called him a hypocrite on Twitter because of his anti-oil sands T-shirt and criticism of Canada’s climate policy. Heppenheimer also wasn’t able to convert his strong form on the track from training sessions during the weekend. Fourth place in free second free exercise, third place in third free exercise. Euphoria was already spreading in the Aston Martin garage even before qualifying.

“Nothing has worked for us since Saturday afternoon,” complained a frustrated Vettel after a pointless race, with no more than 12th place possible for the four-time world champion. Already in qualifying on Saturday, Vettel had finished in the first qualifying segment, which meant starting position 17 in the race.

Vettel vs VSC: Part 1

“We could have got more points today, but VSC worked against us both times,” Vettel said angrily after the race. During the first virtual safety car phase triggered by Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez, Vettel didn’t go to the pits as he was just changing tyres. The timing of the second safety car was also quite unfavorable for the German, this time not virtual.

Vettel also failed to benefit from Bernd Meylander’s first appearance in the weekend that started due to a driving error by Yuki Tsunoda. “We just weren’t lucky with the safety car. It was difficult for us to recover from,” Vettel said. After stopping early in the race, he had to complete 51 laps on hard tyres.

“VSC came and gave everyone a free stop. Then VSC came again and gave another free stop to the one who didn’t come the first time. Not my day!” With old tires worn out, Vettel got stuck behind the other drivers and did not get a chance to overtake.

Vettel vs VSC: Part 2

Worst to Worse: During the safety car phase, Vettel left the car ahead of the allowed ten car lengths and was stopped by the stewards after the race. The Aston Martin driver did not receive any penalty for this. Reason: Towards the end of the safety car, it caught on again and held its position until the start again. Other drivers would have done the same and would not be penalized.

At least one good deed was still possible for Sebastian Vettel: He let local hero Lance take a walk, and at least he had a happy ending. Team owner Lawrence Stroll’s son – also thanks to Vettel’s help – finished tenth in points. At least one of the two Canadians scored points in the home race. Nicolas Latifi was only second to Kevin Magnussen after finishing 16th.