Crash is wake-up call for Vettel

Oct 7, 2011, 9:19 GMT

Suzuka, Japan - Sebastian Vettel said his crash in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix was a timely reminder for him that this year's Formula One world title was not won yet.

'It was an unnecessary mistake,' he said. 'It was quite a good shaking to wake me up for the weekend.'

Vettel came a cropper at the second Degner corner of the Suzuka circuit, running through a gravel bed into a barrier. He was unhurt and the Red Bull not badly damaged.

The 24-year-old German, who needs just a point from the last five races to win back-to-back world titles, was third fastest in both practice sessions behind McLaren's Jenson Button.

'It wasn't a big mistake this morning, but in that moment I wasn't 100-per-cent awake and mistakes around here can be quite costly,' Vettel said.

'I went off and tried to slow the car down, but I hit the wall slightly. It wasn't a big impact, but it did some damage to the car, so it wasn't perfect.

'It did affect our run plan a little, but we had a solid afternoon.'

Vettel was 0.194 seconds behind Button, who is now mathematically the only driver who can beat the Red Bull driver this season.