May 10 (GMM) Sebastian Vettel has revealed he was asked to pull out of the race before finishing the Spanish grand prix in third place.
The Red Bull driver suffered a braking problem with 15 laps of the Barcelona race still to run, and made a pitstop so the damage could be inspected.
Mechanics and engineers noticed damage to a brake disc before sending the 22-year-old German back onto the circuit.
“When I got back out the team told me that I should quit the race,” Vettel said in an interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.
“They said the risk because of the broken brake was too great.
“I asked them if that (retiring) was really necessary or whether I could just drive slowly and pick up some points.
“I got no answer,” Vettel continued. “So I drove. In the middle of the last corner I then got the message ‘keep going, but be careful’, but it was too late anyway. I was already past the pit entry.”
Vettel said he managed to finish the race by shifting the brake bias all the way to the rear.
“They were pretty worried on the pitwall and I was constantly reminded to drive more slowly,” he added.
