F1 | Ferrari, Vettel on retirement: "A small problem generated a big one"

Sebastian Vettel chews bitterly. Thanks to his retirement in the very early stages of the Japanese Grand Prix, caused by a spark plug failure, the German from Ferrari slipped in the world championship standings, 59 points behind Lewis Hamilton, winner of the Suzuka race.

Commenting on the disastrous outcome of his race, Vettel declared: “I don't know if this situation has much to do with reliability. But we haven't finished the race, so there's a problem. I think it was a small problem that begat a big one. We didn't have the power at the start and we tried to reset everything to get it back, but something didn't work. Certainly the Championship is more difficult now and not finishing the race doesn't help. I also told the guys to go home and rest because it's been a tough week, with a lot of changes. Then we will come back with a better package to do well in the last four races, and we'll see. Overall, I think the team is on the right path. We are improving race by race and there are also positive aspects. Even if it is difficult to see them today".