After penalty, heartbroken Vettel yearns for old days

Sebastian Vettel was angry and heartbroken over a penalty that cost him victory at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday but mostly he was wishing he could have raced in the days when drivers decided the winner not regulations.

Starting from pole position Vettel appeared ready to claim Ferarri's first victory of the season until, pressured by Lewis Hamilton, he misjudged his entry into a chicane, shot across the grass and re-entered the track while cutting off the Mercedes prompting a five-second penalty from the stewards for unsafe re-entry.

"I was just thinking I really love my racing, I'm a purist going back and looking at the old times, the old cars, the old drivers," said Vettel.

"I just wish I was maybe as good as I am doing what I do but doing it in their time rather than today."

While angry over the decision, Vettel said his greater concern was the penalty was only a symptom of a bigger problem facing Formula One -- over regulation.

Vettel vigorously defended his move saying, "the priority at that point is just to survive", and common sense dictated the outcome while stewards viewed it as simply a black and white situation with no grey area.

"I rejoined the track and Lewis had to react," said Vettel. "For me that's racing.

"A lot of the people I just mentioned, the old Formula One drivers and people in the grandstands, would agree this is just part of racing but nowadays I don't like it.

"We all sound a bit like lawyers. Ultimately it is not the sport I fell in love with. Just the way we are doing these things now is wrong, now we have regulations for everything," said Vettel.

Meanwhile, Ferrari said they will appeal the penalty. Under the sport's regulations, Ferrari have 96 hours from the end of the race to gather evidence to support their appeal.

Told that Vettel felt the stewards' verdict was unfair, Hamilton responded: "That's his opinion, of course! I took the corner normally and, when you come back on the track, you're not supposed to go on to the racing line."

Hamilton added: "That's not the way I wanted to win, but I would have been past. Physically, I am destroyed. It was such a tough race."