Sebastian Vettel has described his mistake during the German Grand Prix as "small", but one that had huge consequences for the German's title battle.
Vettel went into his home race leading the championship from title rival Hamilton and looked set to extend his lead after securing pole position on Saturday, whilst Hamilton started a lowly 14th having suffered a hydraulic issue.
Vettel comfortably led the race before a small rain shower struck in the closing laps, which caused the Ferrari driver to lose the front-end, forcing him into the gravel and then the tyre wall. Although it was a small impact, it was enough to end Vettel's race.
GERMAN GRAND PRIX: Race result | Championship standings
“I was in the barrier and realised I'm not getting out from here so how do you process that," he said. "I don’t think it was a huge mistake but it was a huge impact on the race as we retired there.
"It is not like tonight I’ll have difficulties falling asleep because of what I’ve done. I think it is disappointing because up until that point everything was sweet…as I said we didn’t need the rain."
Hamilton went on to win the race after Mercedes made the most of the late drama, meaning the championship has now swung in the Briton's favour, but Vettel isn't disheartened and is confident in his and Ferrari's ability to fight back.
"We have a strong car so we can be confident more than anyone else," he added.
"It was just one of those moments. My mistake so apologies to the team as they did everything dead right. I had it in my hands, small mistake, big disappointment."
