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Ferrari had pace for double podium before Verstappen clash - Vettel

Sebastian Vettel believes the Ferrari Formula 1 team had the pace to finish second and third in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix but saw its race unravel following a first-corner collision

Vettel, team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen tried to go side-by-side into La Source at the start, making contact and pitching Vettel into a spin as well as damaging all three cars.

Verstappen slams Ferrari drivers over collision

The Ferrari duo dropped to the back of the field, with Raikkonen losing time in the pits when the floor of his car caught fire while the team tried to a fit a new nose.

Vettel recovered well to finish sixth with Raikkonen passing Felipe Massa late on to snatch ninth but it was a disappointing result considering the team had locked out the second row.

Raikkonen: Verstappen will have massive crash

"With a normal race, let's say we had the pace to finish second and third," said Vettel.

"In the race my car was damaged and I think Kimi's car was damaged so it wasn't ideal.

"But it was still very strong - strong enough to recover."

Vettel said his car sustained damage in the incident but was pleased he could still get good pace out of it having struggled on Friday.

"It damaged the whole right back of the floor, basically the footplate area has completely gone," he said.

"It felt quite bad when I restarted at the back of the pack after Turn 1.

"I was sure there was damage but we have to have a good look. There's probably something that fell off.

"Obviously we were lucky to continue because the hit was quite big and we were lucky that we didn't have a puncture as well.

"Afterwards the pace was good but the car was damaged."

Raikkonen was disappointed with the result, especially considering it is a track he usually runs well at and the fact Ferrari looked stronger than it has done for several races.

"We had a decent car all weekend," he said. "The end result is not showing that, but it's pointless to start guessing where we would be in a normal race.

"We had quite a bit of damage on the car, we had a flat front tyre which made a fire underneath the car.

"The car has been feeling quite good all weekend.

"Fighting people doesn't help, but it looked much worse after the first lap.

"Two points is not what we were looking for but it's better than nothing. It's a shame but that's how racing goes sometimes."

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