Sebastian Vettel is looking to secure a prestigious Spa-Monza double this weekend to bring him right back into play in his Formula One championship battle with Lewis Hamilton, but his week in Italy got off to a disastrous start when he crashed during a demo run on the streets of Milan. The four-time world champion was part of the Ferrari line-up that, along with Sauber, looked to light up the streets of the Italian city as part of the Formula One Milan Festival at Darsena. Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen were both in action in this year’s challenger, the Ferrari SF71H, while Sauber drivers Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson were also there C37. F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Show all 25 1 /25 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Practice Getty Images F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Practice Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Practice Getty Images F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Practice Force India have been placed into administration amid serious financial concerns Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Cars needed the full wet tyres after the second thunderstorm hit REUTERS F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Lewis Hamilton conquered the wet conditions in Budapest AFP/Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Kimi Raikkonen ended up third after being leapfrogged by the two Mercedes AP F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Lewis Hamilton mastered the wet conditions to take pole position for the Hungarian grand Prix AFP/Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Lewis Hamilton left it late to snatch pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Lewis Hamilton mastered the wet conditions like he has so many times before Reuters F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Lewis Hamilton celebrates after securing pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix AP F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Qualifying Lewis Hamilton celebrates after taking pole position ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen Reuters F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Fans of Max Verstappen cheer on the young Dutchman at the Hungaroring Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Fernando Alonso celebrated his 37th birthday on race day Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton waves to the crowd ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix Reuters F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel prepares to climb into his Ferrari Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Max Verstappen prepares for the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton leads the field into turn one Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton leads Valtteri Bottas at the start of the race AFP/Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo charged through the field from 16th to fifth by his first stop Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel passes Kimi Raikkonen on the outside of turn two Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix A furious Max Verstappen makes his way back to the pits after retiring Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas crashed twice late on to drop him from second to fifth EPA F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton crosses the line to win the Hungarian Grand Prix AFP/Getty F1 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the Hungarian Grand Prix AFP/Getty But it all went a bit wrong for Vettel as he ran into the barrier that marked out the track, damaging the front wing in the process, with YouTube account sportcrash71 capturing the moment he lost control of his Ferrari. The crash is hardly a setback for Ferrari ahead of their home race at Monza as the damage is easily repairable, but it is the embarrassment of a simple demo run gone wrong that will be the hardest part for Vettel to take. Putting the street shunt behind him, Vettel voiced his desire to take the momentum from his victory in Spa – where he overtook Hamilton on the opening lap before cruising to his fifth win of the season – into the Italian Grand Prix, where out-and-out speed is even more important than it is in Belgium given drivers spend more than 70 per cent of a single lap at full throttle. Sebastian Vettel crashed in front of fans while on a demo run in Milan (AP) "We have a good car that seems to work everywhere," said Vettel, who trails Hamilton by 17 points in the drivers’ championship. "Hopefully we can now carry that momentum and speed into the next race to Monza." Vettel was left embarrassed by a demo-run crash on Wednesday (Reuters) Vettel has won three times at the speed citadel that is Monza, which was also the scene of his first ever victory in the Toro Rosso 10 years ago that catapulted him onto the world stage as a rising star of the sport.<doc-sep>Sebastian Vettel crashed his Ferrari Formula 1 car during the latest F1 Live event in Milan, ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. As part of the event – the second F1 festival of the year – both Vettel and Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen drove their cars on a demonstration run around the streets of Darsena in the city centre on Wednesday in the build-up to the Scuderia's home race. Vettel pranged his SF71H in a low speed collision with the barriers, breaking the front wing of his Ferrari after understeering around a tight corner. The German, who heads into the final European race of the season at Monza looking to further reduce Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead after a dominant win at the Belgian Grand Prix, had to reverse his car before returning back to his mechanics in a tempory pitlane. Sauber drivers Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson and Toro Rosso duo Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley were also present, with thousands of F1 fans in attendance. Vettel joins the likes of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and ex-F1 drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Pastor Maldonado in crashing F1 cars while performing at demonstration events in recent years. Related Articles Video below by Sportscrash71<doc-sep>Sebastian Vettel CRASHES Ferrari at F1 Milan Festival FREE now and never miss the top F1 stories again SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top F1 stories again When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Vettel ended Lewis Hamilton’s two-race winning streak last weekend by taking victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, cutting the Brit’s lead at the top of the F1 World Drivers’ Championship to just 17 points. And teams have a tight turnaround this week, leaving Spa on Sunday night and heading south to Italy and Monza ahead of the first practice session on Friday morning. But Ferrari, along with two other F1 teams, stopped off in Milan for a fan festival where the cars took over the streets of the Italian city’s Navigli quarter. However, it did not go entirely to plan as Vettel understeered through a low-speed left-handed corner and shunted his front wing into the barriers. The wing broke but did not fall off and Vettel reversed before taking his car back to the Ferrari mechanics for them to fix. F1 cars are notoriously difficult to handle at low speeds because the tyres and brakes lose temperature too quickly and the aerodynamics need air that travels at high speeds. But Vettel explained that the accident was down to some confusion with the steering wheel. "I apologised," Vettel said. Sebastian Vettel lost control of his Ferrari briefly but sustained no serious damage Sebastian Vettel could not get his Ferrari round the tight street circuit "I went with the car and the steering wheel of Kimi, who had the clutch on the other side. "I didn't think about it, and at that point I was too fast. "I asked if it would be possible to change the wing to do two more laps for the fans. "Obviously it was my mistake, but that's OK." Ferrari fans will rarely get such a good chance to see Sebastian Vettel driving up close The event will continue through to Saturday although it will not continue to feature the F1 drivers who turned up on Wednesday. Vettel was joined by team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, Sauber drivers Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson, and Toro Rosso pair Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley. And the German will hope to put the minor shunt out of his mind quickly as Ferrari head to their home race at Monza, where they will be look to continue to show off their superior engine power, a relatively new development in the battle with Mercedes. "I think it's a huge compliment if people praise our engine because the last five years people didn't praise anything other than Mercedes engines," Vettel said. ”So it's good to have that change and I think it makes Maranello and all the Ferraristi and our engine department very happy.<doc-sep>SEBASTIAN Vettel may have four world titles under his belt but the German somehow managed to crash a Ferrari while showing it off in Milan. Fans flocked to the city to watch the Formula 1 ace parade the stunning Italian motor ahead of Sunday’s Monza Grand Prix. But while he lapped up cheers from the crowd, Vettel lost concentration and drove the car straight into the barrier. Hundreds of smiling fans pulled out their phones to take a picture of the moment Vettel was left red faced. He was later rescued from the embarrassment and was picked up by a member of the team as Vettel continued waving to fans. The 31-year-old heads into Sunday’s race on the back of last Sunday’s victory at the Belgium GP that moved him 17 points behind Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is unconvinced his team can repeat their double-podium in Monza at this weekend’s Italian GP. Last year, Hamilton won the race while his teammate Valtteri Bottas was second. However, this season his team have been outpaced by Ferrari as Vettel showed in Belgium to cut Hamilton’s lead at the top. And Wolff says it could be another case of damage limitation at the Italian team’s home track. He said: “The race in Spa clearly showed that the Ferrari was the better car around that track, both in terms of performance and tyre management. “In the end, we were simply not fast enough to threaten Vettel after he had taken the lead in the first lap. “On the plus side, we still came home with more points than Ferrari. However, it is clear that we need find more performance if we want to keep gaining more points than our competitors. “Over the course of this season, the performance has shifted a number of times between Ferrari and us, so nobody can take anything for granted. “We just have to keep our heads down, focus on the developing our car and take it race by race. We need to keep developing quickly over the next weeks. “Last year, we celebrated a One-two in Monza. This year, nobody expects it to be easy and we will have to step up our game in order to challenge for victory. “The Ferrari has been impressively quick on the straights lately which is certainly an advantage on a track like Monza. But we will be fighting them with everything we’ve got.”<doc-sep>
Sebastian Vettel suffered a small embarrassment as he crashed his Ferrari SF71-H into the barriers during an F1 Live event in Milan on Wednesday. The two Ferrari drivers, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, drove their cars around Milan’s Darsena dockland area as part of the demonstration ahead of the Italian Grand Prix this weekend. The German driver, during his turn to take the SF71-H around the makeshift track, understeered at slow speed going into a tight right hand turn and collided with the barrier. The crash dislodged the front wing on the car after which he was forced to reverse and cruise to the makeshift pit stop area for repairs. The crash in Milan brought out a huge gasp from the thousands of fans lining the streets and Vettel would not have wanted to start his Italian Grand Prix week in this fashion. The four-time world champion trails Lewis Hamilton by 17 points in the Drivers’ championship battle and will be hoping to close the gap this weekend. Ferrari are billed as the favorites owing to their strong showing at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Monza circuit is also a very power hungry circuit like Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, but the characteristics are very different. All the cars will be running low downforce packages with Mercedes expected to bring a significant upgrade to counter Ferrari’s power unit advantage. Vettel will be keen to maximize any advantage the team has and close the gap on the Mercedes driver, but his crash in Milan during the F1 Live event is certain to be a talking point when he arrives in the paddock ahead of the race Sunday. The German driver is scheduled to take part in the traditional drivers’ pre-race press conference on Thursday, when he is likely to give an explanation with regards to his crash on the streets on Italy’s fashion capital. The two Ferrari drivers were not the only two at the event as they were joined by Sauber pair Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson and Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images Ferrari, meanwhile, are the only team among the top three yet to confirm their driver lineup for the 2019 season. Mercedes and Red Bull Racing revealed their pairing with the former retaining their two drivers, while the latter confirmed Gasly will replace the departing Daniel Ricciardo. Ferrari look to be still debating on whether to retain Raikkonen as Vettel’s teammate or promote young Ferrari academy driver Leclerc, who has impressed his debut F1 season with Sauber. Initially it looked like the Finnish racer might be on his way out, but a string of impressive performances have put him firmly as the favorite to be with the Italian team for at least one more season. Multiple reports are suggesting there could be an announcement during the race weekend in Monza.