Sebastian Vettel suffered his first retirement since Korea last year when a puncture and the ensuing damage saw him park at the end of the first lap in Abu Dhabi.
Team Christian Horner says the team still doesn’t know what caused the puncture, suggesting only that Vettel might have struck debris when he ran over the kerb.
“I accelerated out of the first corner and I lost very suddenly the pressure of the rear tyre, and there was nothing I can do,” said Vettel.
“As soon as I started turning in I knew something was wrong with the rear tyre. I caught it surprisingly, but the second time, I couldn’t do it any more. I spun off and on the way back I damaged the suspension so badly it was over.
“We need to understand why we got the puncture, and then there’s not much we can do.”
Vettel said he couldn’t speculate about how the race might have gone for him.
“It was a very, very good start, I was very happy with the car up to that point. It was just at the beginning of the race. It’s hard to say how quick we could have been. I think Mark had a very good race, his pace was good, so I think the car was in good shape.
“On the other hand Lewis and Fernando in front had strong pace. We didn’t have a chance. I can’t stand here and tell you what could have been, because in the end it didn’t happen because we didn’t make it much more than one lap.”
Adam Cooper F1 