SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Title not lost for Vettel yet says Trulli

Jarno Trulli says it is still possible that Sebastian Vettel will win the 2017 title.

That is despite the fact the partisan Italian press is livid that, with the first corner crash in Singapore, "an entire season was destroyed".

Italian and former F1 driver Trulli agrees that the crash was Vettel's fault.

"If you really want to blame one driver more than another you could say that Vettel could have done that manoeuvre better," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But the championships are won at the end, not now. There are still 6 races and these days there are 25 points to be won each time so we know that anything can happen.

"Actually the championship is extremely balanced," said Trulli. "It is clear that today 28 points seems a lot, but one false step by Mercedes and Vettel will be back.

"This is a Ferrari we can expect everything from. We have seen them become competitive when we did not expect it, so nothing is lost. The story is only complete at the chequered flag at the last race," the former Renault driver added.

However, Ferrari is also attracting widespread criticism as a result of the Singapore incident, including the team's pointing of the finger of blame at Max Verstappen.

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos said Vettel was clearly to blame.

"With this aggressive move, he not only eliminated himself and his first title with Ferrari, but also Kimi, Max and Alonso," he told Ziggo Sport Totaal.

"With this action and also Baku, Vettel does not deserve to be champion," Doornbos said.

(GMM)