Sebastian Vettel has said he remains dissatisfied with the penalty that cost him victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was awarded the win but Vettel, speaking before the French Grand Prix where his team face a stewards’ review on the decision on Friday, was hopeful new evidence would prove crucial.

Lewis Hamilton says Canadian GP decision was right after Vettel error Read more

Vettel had been leading in Montreal when he went off the track at the first chicane. On rejoining the race he squeezed Hamilton wide and the British driver had to back off to avoid a collision. Vettel insisted he had not been in control of the car and had no intent of pushing Hamilton wide. However, the stewards deemed he had regained control and issued a five-second penalty for unsafely rejoining and forcing another car off track. Hamilton finished second but took the win with the penalty applied.

“I still have the same view that I had two weeks ago,” Vettel said, still angry at the decision. “It’s fair enough that you have things that excite you more and less during the course of a grand prix. I wasn’t losing my temper, I wasn’t happy but I think I have reason not to be happy. First thing of all is to open the case again and have another look. We bring some information that maybe the stewards didn’t have at the time.”

Vettel accepted that, given the penalty was imposed mid-race, it affected how racing progressed. Hamilton, knowing he only needed to stay within five seconds, did not push to attempt to pass. “It didn’t feel like he was easing off,” Vettel said. “But certainly it changed the race from that point onwards because I don’t know how much Lewis was backing off or not.”

Hamilton did not take part in the usual media activities at the French Grand Prix yesterday after Mercedes allowed him to attend the memorial for the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Hamilton has a keen interest in fashion and paid his respects to Lagerfeld after the designer’s death in February. “I met him once. He is the Godfather of the fashion industry,” he said. “He was effortless with his own fashion style and no one has had such a big impact on the fashion industry and left a great legacy.”

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The British driver leads the world championship by 29 points from his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and is 62 points in front of Vettel, as the season reaches the eighth meeting at Paul Ricard.

Hamilton requested he be allowed to arrive later on in the day and was allowed to by the team principal, Toto Wolff. He had also missed the FIA press conference in Monaco this season after the death of Niki Lauda. Wolff has previously said Hamilton can perform at his best when given the freedom to pursue his own interests and the 34-year-old has repeatedly proved that to be the case.

Last season before the Singapore Grand Prix Hamilton attended launches of his clothing range in Shanghai and New York. He then delivered one of the best qualifying laps of his career and won the race.

“He was in Shanghai on the catwalk, he was in New York a couple of days later, he came here, rock and roll and he blew everyone away,” Wolff said at the time. “Let’s be non-judgmental and allow everyone to judge how he performed best. And he knows best what is good for him.”