Whitmarsh slams Vettel over collision

Vettel lost control of his Red Bull Racing car on lap 16, as he was battling Button for second place. After misjudging Button's braking for the final chicane, Vettel spun to take avoiding action and then turned back into the side of his McLaren rival.

And, with Vettel getting handed a drive-through penalty for the incident, Whitmarsh reckoned that the young German's actions were not good enough.

"It was not what you would expect to see in F1 - more reminiscent of junior formulae," Whitmarsh said immediately after the race. "A drive-through seemed a pretty light punishment to me."

Whitmarsh said he did not understand why Vettel put himself in such a position on the track as he fought Button - who was struggling with a damaged front wing.

"It was a bit of a strange mistake I have to say," continued Whitmarsh. "I realise it was not intentional but it was a pretty strange one really.

"If he was going for the inside he had three inches to sneak down there, so God knows what he thought he was doing. That was frustrating. But that is motor racing; we've got to move on now."

He added: "He [Vettel] is a nice guy and he didn't need to do it, but when you keep doing these things you have to reflect on what is on your mind on this occasion. It looked like he was trying to go for an inside gap where, as I said, there were a few inches. What he thought he was doing there, I don't know. And he lost it. I would rather he did it with his team-mates rather than do it with us!"

Vettel apologised for the incident after the race, and said he had been caught out by Button braking earlier than he had expected because of damp conditions on the track.