Sebastian Vettel's wild Italian GP lunge on Lewis Hamilton cost him more points

Incident is the latest in a long list of errors from the under pressure Ferrari star

Vettel has been under the spotlight since driving into Hamilton at Baku in 2017

READ: All the latest F1 news, features and points tables

Once again it was the red cars left red faced after Ferrari binned a front row lockout at Monza to hand Lewis Hamilton victory at the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton stormed past Kimi Raikkonen late on to deny Ferrari a first home win in eight years having earlier survived a tangle with Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.

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Vettel's mistake cost him more points in the hunt for the world championship and the errors are piling up for the four-time champion who now trails Hamilton by 30 points in drivers' standings.

But how many of Vettel's high profile incidents are his fault? Sportsmail looks at the Ferrari driver's key on track dramas over the last two seasons and assesses whether he has been unfortunate or utterly careless.

Sebastian Vettel has been involved in numerous high profile incidents in the last two seasons

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Vettel vs Hamilton (part 1)

What happened?

Hamilton was leading under the safety car in the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Vettel before braking sharply but not recklessly. The German though was caught off guard and tagged the Mercedes from behind.

Vettel's response to hide the embarrassment was to fume that he had been brake tested, before pulling up alongside Hamilton and driving into him.

In-race fallout

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Neither driver suffered any damage but despite protesting his innocence, Vettel was given a 10-second stop-go penalty.

Post-race fallout

Hamilton had to later stop for a change of headrest allowing Vettel to finish fourth, but had Vettel not collected a penalty he would have likely won the race and picked up an extra 13 points.

Vettel (right) left Lewis Hamilton stunned when he drove into him during a safety car period

They said...

Vettel: 'Yeah he brake checked me so what do you expect? I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose but I'm not sure it was the right move. He did something similar a couple of years ago in China.'

Hamilton: 'I controlled the pace, like all the other restarts I slowed down in the same spot,' Hamilton said. 'He's obviously sleeping and drove in the back of me, that for me wasn't an issue.

'Driving alongside and deliberately driving into a driver and getting away scot free pretty much, he still came away fourth, I think that's disgrace, he disgraced himself today to be honest.'

Verdict

There was no debate even at the time. Vettel was 100 per cent at fault and it was ludicrous how he continued to protest his innocence.

Vettel would later on in the year admit it was his biggest mistake of the season.

Sparks in Singapore

What happened?

Leading away from pole position at Marina Bay in 2017, Vettel swiped across the track to prevent Max Verstappen making a move for the lead down into turn one but instead caused a three-car collision involving himself, the Dutchman and his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

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In-race fallout

All three drivers were eliminated from the race, allowing Hamilton, who started fourth, to take an unexpected and easy victory. Stewards deemed the chaotic start as a racing incident.

Post-race fallout

Considering Vettel had the pace that weekend to win, he threw away at least 25 points, which you can upgrade to 32 points in the championship battle considering Hamilton would have had to settle for second at best. Who knows where Raikkonen and Verstappen could have placed?

Vettel was the cause of a three-car pile up at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix in 2017 involving Kimi Raikkonen (right) and Max Verstappen (left)

They said...

Vettel: 'We did our start, everyone was trying to do his start, and then it ended up pretty bad for all three of us. It is part of racing. These things, they happen, not much you can do.'

Verstappen: 'He started squeezing me, maybe he didn't see Kimi on the left. When you're fighting for a world championship you shouldn't do that. It was not very clever. I was in the middle without doing anything wrong, I was just trying to have a clean start.

Raikkonen: 'I don't think I could have done anything to change the end result apart from doing a bad start and not being there. That's not really my fault.'

Verdict

Vettel was too careless in trying to protect his lead and took an unnecessary risk to maintain it by forcing Verstappen to collide with Raikkonen that triggered the three-car pile up.

The only consolation for Vettel at the end of the season was that without the Baku and Singapore incidents he still would have lost the world championship by one point - but that is only on the assumption that Hamilton would have passed Verstappen and Raikkonen in Singapore.

VETTEL vs HAMILTON (2017) How races could have changed... ACTUAL RESULT Azerbaijan GP 4th Vettel - 12 points 5th Hamilton - 10 points Singapore GP 1st Hamilton - 25 points DNF Vettel - 0 points WITHOUT VETTEL ERRORS Azerbaijan GP 1st Vettel - 25 points 5th Hamilton - 10 points Singapore GP 1st Vettel - 25 points 2nd Hamilton - 18 points Final standings... ACTUAL RESULT 1st Hamilton - 363 points 2nd Vettel - 317 points WITHOUT VETTEL ERRORS 1st Hamilton - 356 points 2nd Vettel - 355 points

Vettel and Verstappen meet again

What happened?

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Battling for third place in the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix, Vettel and Verstappen were dicing for position on the exit of the corner, before the Red Bull driver tagged the German sending both cars into a spin.

In-race fallout

Verstappen would suffer no damage but he picked up a 10-second penalty for causing the crash, while Vettel limped on.

Post-race fallout

Vettel dropped down the order to finish eighth, with Hamilton among those benefitting from the crash to finish fourth.

It was Verstappen at fault though when he drove into Vettel at the Chinese Grand Prix

They said...

Vettel: 'I don't need to say anything here...'

Verstappen: 'I could see he was struggling on the tyres and tried to brake late in the corners. I locked the rears and hit him. It was of course my fault. Not what I want.'

Verdict

Big points dropped for Vettel but on this occasion he was entirely blameless and a just another victim for Verstappen who earlier in the race had tangled with Hamilton too.

Banzai in Baku

What happened?

One year on from his madness in Azerbaijan, Vettel made another wild move in Baku. This time though it was a calculated gamble to try and pass Valtteri Bottas following a restart under the safety car period.

But trying to overtake on the inside of turn one he heavily locked his left front tyre, overshooting the corner in the process.

In-race fallout

Vettel suffered a heavily flatspotted tyre, ruining his pace and causing him to drop two places back to finish fourth.

Post-race fall-out

Bottas would retire from the race with a puncture three laps from the end, handing a very fortuitous win to Hamilton in the process.

Vettel flat spotted his left front tyre trying to pass Valtteri Bottas at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

They said...

Vettel: 'S*** happens. Without a safety car it would have been a different race. I saw the gap on the side and unfortunately it did not work out for me. But that is easy to say now. I went over a bump and had front locking but I'm not blaming that — I am captain of my own ship.'

Verdict

Vettel's do or die approach was a gamble that could have paid off but it was one he did not need to take, especially with Bottas' retirement.

Admittedly he could not have foreseen the Finn's puncture which would have handed him a well deserved win. But the end result was a 20-point swing towards Hamilton in the battle for the championship.

Paying the penalty

What happened?

In qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz had started a flying lap in his Renault only to catch a slowing Vettel straight after the first corner.

The Spaniard was forced out wide off the circuit, ruining his lap during Q2.

In-race fallout

Vettel would qualify third on the grid at the Red Bull Ring but he was handed a three-place grid penalty for blocking Sainz.

Post-race fallout

With both Mercedes retiring, race day for Vettel turned out well as he claimed third place. Given the struggles on tyres for all the top teams, it is not certain he would have beaten Max Verstappen for the win but second place from his team-mate Raikkonen was up for grabs.

Carlos Sainz attempts to start a qualifying lap as he goes into turn one at the Austrian GP

But straight away the Renault driver attempts to avoid a collision with the slow-moving Vettel

Sainz was forced to run wide, with Vettel then demoted to sixth on the grid as a result

They said...

Vettel: It's impossible to see, I wasn't told anything, normally I get told very well. I can only apologise and fortunately it didn't make a difference for him.

Sainz: 'It's not always the fault of the driver if you are not told. But it cost me a front wing.

Verdict

Neither driver was at fault here. Vettel was admittedly a little careless to slow on the racing line. But he should have been told by his team, who had a better view of the whole circuit, that there were drivers behind him.

Foul play in France

What happened?

At this year's French Grand Prix, Vettel started third behind the two Mercedes before aggressively attacking second place Bottas into turn one. The German succeeded only in spinning the Finn and running wide before rejoining the circuit.

In-race fallout

After pitting for a new front-wing as a result of the incident, Vettel was then handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision with Bottas.

Post-race fallout

Vettel would produce a storming damage limitations drive from near the back of the field to take fifth place.

Vettel's dive down the inside at the first corner at the French Grand Prix, colliding with Bottas

They said...

Vettel: 'My mistake. I tried to brake early and get out of it, [but] I had no grip being so close to the cars in front and also next to me.

'Valtteri tried to get his position back, [which is] fair enough and I had nowhere to go obviously. The turn goes left and I tried to slow down, but with the grip I could only open the radius and that meant unfortunately I had to make contact to Valtteri.

Mercedes chief Niki Lauda: '[It was] an enormous mistake… Five seconds is nothing. He really destroyed the whole race for himself and for Bottas.'

Verdict

While sympathy could be had for Vettel's lunge on Bottas in Azerbaijan, his turn one move at Paul Ricard was reckless. The German argued he could have troubled Hamilton for the win, which is debatable, but he certainly was good enough to pick up another eight points for second place had he kept his nose clean at the start.

Hero to zero

What happened?

Vettel looked to be on course to win at Hockenheim for the first time. But with Hamilton catching him in the wet conditions late in the race he spun off into the barriers in front of his home fans.

In-race fallout

The crash put Vettel out of the race, promoting Hamilton into the lead of the German Grand Prix.

Post-race fall out

Huge embarrassment on behalf of Vettel. He had started the race on pole with his title rival in 14th and it ended in the most humiliating way possible.

In front of his home fans at the German GP Vettel crashed out, handing the win to Hamilton

They said...

Vettel, seconds after the crash: 'F*** sake, f*** sake. "Sorry, guys. S***.'

Vettel, after the race: 'It was a huge mistake and it had a huge impact on the race because we retired.'

Verdict

Nowhere to hide for Vettel who had simply cracked under pressure of Hamilton catching him and spun off the circuit of his own accord, at the cost of a maximum 32-point swing in the championship.

Vettel vs Hamilton (part 2)

What happened?

Looking to pass team-mate Kimi Raikkonen for the lead at the second chicane of the Italian Grand Prix, Vettel was forced to quickly defend from Lewis Hamilton before colliding with the Brit.

In-race fall out

The collision did no harm to Hamilton but it broke Vettel's front wing and caused him to pit to repair the damage and rejoin in 18th place. Stewards ruled the clash as a racing incident.

Post-race fall-out

Hamilton went on to pass Raikkonen for the win as Vettel recovered to fourth place.

Hamilton tried to pass Vettel around the outside at Monza before being hit on the side

Vettel complained he was not given enough room by his title rival at the Italian Grand Prix

They said...

Vettel: 'Lewis didn't leave me any space and I had no choice but to run into him and make contact. I tried to get out from there but I couldn't. Unfortunately, I was the one that spun around, which is ironic.'

Hamilton: 'I was a bit surprised Seb chose the inside and not the outside of Kimi. That was my opportunity. I stuck it down the outside and made sure I was far enough alongside. I had the experience a few years ago of being on the inside and it didn't come off too well.'

Verdict

Vettel simply panicked at the prospect of being overtaken by Hamilton, who left the German plenty of room to get round the corner. If anyone was to blame for causing the crash it was the Ferrari driver.

Either way, Ferrari had the pace to win the race, at least in the hands of Vettel. If the German triumphed in front of Hamilton he would have been 20 points closer in the championship had he not made another all-or nothing opening lap move.

VETTEL vs HAMILTON (2018) How races could have changed... ACTUAL RESULT Azerbaijan GP 1st Hamilton - 25 points 4th Vettel - 12 points French GP 1st Hamilton - 25 points 5th Vettel - 10 points German GP 1st Hamilton - 25 points DNF Vettel - 0 points Italian GP 1st Hamilton - 25 points 4th Vettel - 12 points WITHOUT VETTEL ERRORS Azerbaijan GP 1st Vettel - 25 points 2nd Hamilton - 18 points French GP 1st Hamilton - 25 points 2nd Vettel - 18 points German GP 1st Vettel - 25 points 2nd Hamilton - 18 points Italian GP 1st Vettel - 25 points 2nd Hamilton - 18 points Current standings... ACTUAL STANDINGS 1st Hamilton - 256 points 2nd Vettel - 226 points WITHOUT VETTEL ERRORS 1st Vettel - 285 points 2nd Hamilton - 235 points

FINAL VERDICT

Not everyone is perfect. Even four-time world champions have their flaws and can be allowed the odd mistake. But Vettel has made simply too many over the last year and it has cost him and Ferrari dearly.

Vettel's 2017 errors led to him conceding 45 points but not the world championship. However, in 2018, and just counting incidents where he has been entirely at fault, takes a points swing towards Hamilton of a mammoth 80 points.

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Had Vettel simply just kept his head in many of his incidents he could quite easily have found himself leaving Monza with a 50-point championship lead heading into the final seven races.