Sebastian Vettel has admitted to being impressed by Max Verstappen's apology for the incident that ended any hope of a podium finish for the German and resulted in a 10s penalty for the Red Bull star.

Shortly after the race, the pair were seen in earnest conversation, and four-time champ Vettel later revealed that the youngster had apologised for the race-changing incident.

"He came up straight after. He realised that he did a mistake," Vettel told reporters. "I said to him 'look, the races are long and you threw your podium away'.

"He was lucky to continue, I was lucky to continue, but it was not necessary," he added. "I think he got it. He was quite composed and realised that he messed up.

"People were asking if it was a question of age, but it's not. He's done so many races," said the German. "We had a bit of tailwind the whole race and after 41 laps you know that it's tricky to stop the car there. But it happens.

"I appreciate the fact that he came to me straight away. I told him that was the way to solve it, face to face and not through the media or blowing something up."

Referring to an unpredictable race which saw his championship lead cut to 9 points, Vettel said: "It was clear that the Red Bulls were faster. The way Daniel approached from behind there was no point to resist much and the same with Max.

"I think he had a bad exit onto the straight, otherwise I was just ready to let him go. He wasn't there, so then you stay in front. I gave a bit of room just in case he had a tiny lock-up and then obviously he had a big lock-up. That's when we crashed.

"I think in a way I'm lucky that I got to the end of it," he admitted. "After a collision like that we might've stopped there. The lucky thing was the car was still working.

"Obviously the floor was damaged and the balance was gone. The car wasn't the same after that it had a lot of understeer."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 16/04/2018 16:04

"Good to apologise, better not to crash in the first place. We all know the old adage: 'To finish 1st, 1st you've got to finish', and Max needs to consider it next time he's asking the impossible from car & tyres. Compare & contrast with Daniel Ricciardo....."

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2. Posted by opaquin, 16/04/2018 2:23

"Max at fault but still comes away with a considerably better result than the driver he collided with. Would say the consequence is very little, especially with fresh tires at the end of the race where he could make up time. He lost one position, hardly a slap on the wrist. "

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3. Posted by Mad Matt, 15/04/2018 20:47

"Indeed. I'm not really a Max fan but apologising like that is a very mature response and shows some of the other drivers up."

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4. Posted by Toffeecup0, 15/04/2018 18:34

"Quite right he went to find vettel after the race after all he was in the wrong good job they were able to continue the race yes everyone at times makes a mistake so that should be the end of the matter,"

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Vettel impressed with Verstappen's quick apology

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