Sebastian Vettel is certain Ferrari would have claimed victory had they not had the engine problems which impacted both cars during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend.
After his turbo issue in qualifying, the German would have to fight back through the field from 20th on the grid but would gain a place before the lights went out as teammate Kimi Raikkonen would suffer a similar issue on his reconnaissance lap leaving his car stuck in the garage.
Eventually, Vettel would recover to claim fourth and had to give up a fight with Daniel Ricciardo in the closing laps for third to manage engine temperatures but without the reliability niggles, the 30-year-old is sure the story would have been very different.
“We have a very quick car and I think if we start ahead then we win the race,” he stated. “Obviously that didn’t happen today but we had the quickest car for the majority of the race in clean air.
“We had to start last but certainly it was more entertaining, the first couple of laps in particular. Overall it was tough with Kimi retiring and for where we started, so a tough race.”
After the chequered flag, the drama wouldn’t be over for the Scuderia driver as Sebastian and Lance Stroll collided at Turn 5 on the in-lap back to the pits, causing significant damage to the Ferrari.
“Well I went on the outside to pick up rubber, I think Lance wasn’t looking and wanted to do the same but that was too late,” he said, explaining what happened. “I was there already and we had contact so that’s completely unnecessary. I think he just didn’t look and then decided to go and pick up rubber.”
There could be potential ramifications for next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix too, with the heavy rear impact likely damaging the gearbox. If a change is needed for the race at Suzuka, Vettel would pick up a five-place grid penalty, further harming his championship chances.
“I don’t know, we need to see,” the 30-year-old said when asked if there was any indication of damage to the gearbox. “But I’m sure we will find a way, it’s not my fault if somebody just decided to pick up rubber and hit another car.”
After the race at Sepang, which saw title rival Lewis Hamilton claim second, Vettel now sits 34 points behind the Mercedes driver with five races to go.
It was hoped Raikkonen could disrupt the Briton, as he started alongside on the front row, but his failure to start ruined any hopes of the Finn playing the team game.
“Of course it’s far from ideal, the issue came out of nowhere. I’m sure we could have had a very good race but where we would have finished, who knows?” Kimi said afterwards. “It’s pointless to even think about that right now. It’s a shame, but it is what it is and now we go for the next weekend.
“We have a good package but we have to make the most out of it. It’s been a tough couple of races, next weekend is a new challenge again and, like we said, we’ve had a good car recently so we don’t expect anything else there.
“Obviously, you can never know, it’s a different circuit but we go there like for any other race weekend and see where we are and go for there.”
