A seething Sebastian Vettel bemoaned his race performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, after his spin following a battle with Lewis Hamilton cost him seven places and he would ultimately finish in fifth, three places down from his starting position on the grid.

“[It was] Difficult. I think we all struggled at various points. I really struggled at the start of the race. On the medium tyre it was a bit better maybe. It was not the pace that I wanted to have today, not sure why and obviously on top I had a mistake with the spin, so not a good evening.

When asked about the windy conditions at the track, he added: “It didn’t help. It was turning into a tailwind on that corner but I don’t know maybe the fact that he was just ahead, being sheltered, I don’t know, but I lost the car very suddenly and once I spun it was too late.

“It was unfortunate that we had so much damage with the tyres that it caused the front wing to fail, it was not great.

I think it was his race to take today so I’m happy for him and for the team but a disappointing day overall, starting from the front and not finishing there is not what we wanted.”