Vettel apologises to Webber

Sebastian Vettel apologised to Mark Webber after ruining his Japanese Grand Prix with a crash during the final safety car period

Vettel was one of the stars of the race, leading with his Toro Rosso after taking full advantage of the poor weather conditions.

His race, however, came to an end when he crashed into the back of Webber's Red Bull when running in third behind the Australian.

"I made a good start and the race was going well," said Vettel. "Then, with the final safety car, I was behind Lewis and Mark and exiting Turn 13, I looked to the right and saw Lewis going really slowly, I don't know why, but I thought he had a problem. Probably he was heating his brakes.

"Then, by the time I looked forward again, I was already in the back of Mark's car and I think he had also reacted to Lewis. I apologise now to Mark because I ruined both our races."

Vettel's teammate Tonio Liuzzi made up for some of the disappointment by giving the Italian team their first point of the season with an eight place finish.

"It was a great race with 67 laps of pure tension because we were aquaplaning all race long," Liuzzi said. "I drove well, especially given that I had qualified badly, after choosing a set-up with little downforce.

"Therefore, given the conditions this afternoon, I chose to start from the pit lane in the T car that was set up for the wet. In the end, I managed to score a point which is really a boost for the whole team.

"Conditions were definitely critical for everyone, but we are drivers and it is our job to race and in any case, this is a very safe track."