Vettel laments stint behind Hamilton

The German, winner of the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend, started from third position, but dropped down behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton at the start.

Vettel was unable to pass the Briton and lost time as well as his tyres while race winner Jenson Button was able to drive in clean air.

In the end Button finished seven seconds ahead of Vettel.

"I'm very pleased to score more points, as it was a difficult race," said Vettel. "The start was okay but it was a surprise to see Lewis was next to me. When I looked in the mirrors he was not there but I guess he pressed his (KERS) button.

"I was in the middle and he was on outside and I had to give way. Then unfortunately I got stuck behind Lewis. I might have a chance to pass but after you follow a car your tyres go down, you get degradation and they never come back.

"It is difficult to pass here. We had a longer first stint which put me just behind Jarno, which was a shame as I was on soft tyres and could have gone quicker. Then after the second stop it was the other way around and I had to defend."

Team-mate Mark Webber, starting from the back of the grid, climbed up to 11th position after a difficult race battling his way through the field.

"My start was okay, we had a reasonable first few laps, but then I got stuck behind Piquet," said Webber. "It's very difficult to overtake a car with KERS, he was too quick on the straights and that really wrecked the first stint for me. We then converted to a two-stop strategy, but the grip was quite low on the prime tyres, although it was the same for everyone.

"If you don't start near the front in these races we know the score, but I did my best. It was a good day for Sebastian, which shows the performance of the car. My mechanics worked like hell and the car was reliable, so we'll have our day."