Vettel explains ‘eye bleeding’ comment during Monaco F1 practice

Vettel was heard on team radio during second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix reporting that he was struggling to see out of one of his eyes.

“It feels like my eye is bleeding,” Vettel told his engineer before being instructed to pit, only for him to opt to continue.

“It’s alright, I’ll carry on,” Vettel said. “Either I’m super emotional or there is something stuck in my eye!”

Speaking after the session, Vettel explained that the issue had got progressively worse throughout FP2, and revealed that his Aston Martin crew had made him a paper eyepatch as a joke.

“I never had my eye bleeding, but it felt like a little bit,” Vettel said.

“I don’t know what was going on. First run, something got into my eye, and it got worse on the second run.

“So the team was quite nice and they made me this [eyepatch]. So I think I’ll keep that and it’ll keep me safe for the rest of the weekend.”

Asked what driving around Monaco with one eye was like, Vettel joked: “I don’t recommend it! It’s not as much fun as with two.”

Vettel ended the session 10th-fastest for Aston Martin, finishing two-tenths of a second clear of team-mate Lance Stroll.

The four-time world champion is still seeking his first points since joining Aston Martin from Ferrari for 2021, but felt pleased with his practice showing.

“I was quite happy this morning, we got into a rhythm quickly,” Vettel said.

“In the afternoon, I lost a bit of view. But overall, it’s OK. It will be tight, it’s always tight here, and it’s obviously tight in the midfield.

“Ideally we can keep that up, and get everything together. It’s all about Saturday afternoon.

“We tried some bits. Like Monaco [as] usual, you always have a bit of stop and go, not always getting the laps for everyone. It will matter on Saturday afternoon to get everything in that one lap.”