Vettel says he should have won easily

Vettel led the race during the early stages, but fell to second behind his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber when he made his mandatory tyre change during a safety car period on lap 16.

Upon the restart, Vettel dropped more than 10 car lengths behind Webber, which is not allowed under the the current safety car rules, and was given the penalty that lost him any chance of victory.

"At the restart, I was sleeping," Vettel said. "I know I was relying too much on the radio, but early in the race I lost the radio connection, so I couldn't hear anything.

"I saw the SC boards and was waiting for instructions, so I didn't see the lights [go out] on the safety car. Usually, when the safety car comes in, the leader tries to drop back and dictate the pace, but Mark was very close.

"I was just warming up my car. I was sure we had another lap. Then I saw Mark at the last corner and the safety car going into the pits, so I knew it was a restart. I lost a lot of time there, which was not the intention. And then I got the drive-through.

"I didn't understand what was going on and why I was penalised," said Vettel. "It was a question mark for me, I didn't understand until someone told me why after the race.

"It's pretty unlucky, because it would have been a walk in the park without that. Still, we saved a podium."

Vettel's result moved him up one place to third in the world championship and leaves him only 10 points behind new leader Webber with seven races remaining.