• Italian Grand Prix

Vettel happy with damage limitation weekend

Sebastian Vettel pitted at the end of the penultimate lap © Getty Images

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Sebastian Vettel said his fourth place finish was the best result he could have hoped for at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Red Bull came to Monza in damage limitation mode due to the RB6's below average top speed on the circuit's long straights. Vettel said he was happy to finish just off the podium and behind the two Ferraris and Jenson Button's McLaren.

"[We scored] some good points and achieved our maximum today, which was fourth place."

Vettel's race got off to a bad start as he lost a position and was then passed by team-mate Mark Webber due to a brief dip in engine performance. He fought back by staying out on his first set of tyres until the end of the penultimate lap and leapfrogging four cars.

"Our strategy was a risk today - if it works then you're the king and if it doesn't you can be the idiot! Fortunately it worked and the team did a great job," he admitted. "I had a bad start and lost a lot of ground. It was difficult to pass from there, as unfortunately we don't have extra speed on the straights, so we had to fight in the corners as well as we could."

He said the engine problem that resulted in him losing position was still a mystery.

"Around lap 20 something happened to the car, I don't know what it was, maybe there was some friction in the car, but fortunately the problem solved itself. In the meantime though, I lost connection to the group ahead and the tow, so around three to four seconds. I had to come back from there and it was a tough fight. The cars ahead pitted, so I stayed out as we tried to overshoot them. We were watching the lap times throughout and in the end it worked."

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