• Canadian Grand Prix

Gearbox problems forced Vettel to slow

Sebastian Vettel was running in second at the start and moved up to first before his pit stop © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Canadian Grand Prix

• Championship:
• FIA Formula One World Championship

• Drivers:
• Sebastian Vettel

• Teams:
• Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel has revealed a gearbox problem prevented him from attacking the McLarens and Fernando Alonso for position at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull opted for a different tyre strategy to the top three, and after the first round of pit stops Vettel dropped from the lead to fourth. In his second stint Vettel started being ordered to slow down due to a developing gearbox problem and later said that that had prevented him attacking Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso for third.

"I had a gearbox problem from around halfway through the race, which meant I had to slow down," he said. "Also, due to lapped cars, I lost six seconds to Jenson in two laps, so I was unable to fight for the podium. But, it's good that we got these final positions."

However, he also admitted that the strategy of starting on hard tyres and staying out longer in the first stint had not paid off.

"I was surprised that I came in for my first pit-stop as the leader, but came out in fourth," Vettel said. "I think everything we predicted to happen from our side was the case. The others came in early for new tyres, as we expected. Usually though, their race would then be over because they should come out in traffic, but that wasn't what happened. When we came out from our pit stop, they were ahead of us, so we need to understand what happened there.

But despite his problems he said the result was not a terrible one.

"Coming into the weekend we were not the favourites, but actually we had very good pace and we surprised some people with that. We couldn't really show our real pace during the race, due to the way it unfolded, but it's promising," he said. "It's a close battle at the top of the table and, as we have seen, things can change very quickly. There is no reason to panic from our side, we have a very good car and we're looking ahead to Valencia."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.