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Sebastian Vettel had an unpleasant meeting with Fernando Alonso's escorts while heading to the race track at the Belgian GP on Saturday.
While Vettel was riding his bike to the track, he was pushed aside by four police motorcycles who were essentially security guards for Alonso. Recapping the incident, Vettel said that he was pushed aside again before Alonso arrived in a Renault.
“In the morning, I rode my bike down the hill to the track," said Vettel. "Suddenly four police motorcycles came, pushed me out of the way, and yelled.Then came a Renault, with Fernando Alonso at the wheel, and two more police motorcycles, which pushed me aside again.”
Despite the off-track incident, the two legends had a decent on-track tussle on Sunday. Vettel in his Aston Martin, challenged Alonso throughout the race. The German faded late on as the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and the Spaniard took over.
Alonso eventually finished P5, while Vettel ended in P8. The Spaniard actually crossed the chequered flag in sixth, but a five-second penalty to Charles Leclerc for speeding in the pitlane saw Alonso climb up a place. Reflecting on the race, the Spaniard said:
"I am happy with the result today with fifth place. Our performance shows that we are consistently ahead in the midfield. It's clear that when we execute our races well, these are the results we can expect to score. We were also handed a little gift with the penalty to Charles (Leclerc) at the end, but we'll take it."
Alonso also talked about his clash with Lewis Hamilton, terming it an 'unfortunate racing incident'.
"The incident with Lewis (Hamilton) was also unfortunate, but it's a racing incident, and the car seemed fine despite the contact," said Alonso. "We can look back and be very pleased with our weekend here with more points scored in both championships as we look ahead to Zandvoort next."
Sebastian Vettel reflects on strong race for Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel reflected on a strong race with Aston Martin as he banked points for a P8 finish. The German admitted that maybe P7 was possible for the team but conceded that the two Alpines were a bit too fast. He said:
"Eighth is a solid result. I was a little bit unlucky with the timing for the second stop. I came out just behind Pierre (Gasly) and lost a lap behind him, which allowed Esteban (Ocon) on new tyres to close down the advantage I had built up during the middle stint."
Vettel added:
"Once again, we were more competitive in the race than in qualifying: we started strongly. and I managed to find a decent rhythm. I was able to put pressure on both Alpines, and I think seventh might have been possible, but they were a bit too fast for us today. But we will bank these points."
Vettel now finds himself 12th in the championship with 20 points. Compare that to just four points for his teammate Lance Stroll and one see gauge much of an impact the former world champion has had on the team.
