Arrivabene: It was just an accident

Raikkonen pits after collision

Maurizio Arrivabene does not blame Sebastian Vettel for the collision between the two Ferrari drivers at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix.

See Kvyat come charging in on his right, Vettel reacted by swerving left and hitting teammate Kimi Raikkonen, sending the Finn in to a spin and breaking his front wing. The accident killed the team's hopes of challenging for victory and although Vettel blamed Kvyat for triggering the incident, team principal Arrivabene says it was a racing incident.

"I think it was an accident, these are things that are part of the race but of course when you have your two drivers crashing with each other, it’s not good," Arrivabene said. "What can I say more than that?"

Asked if he thinks Vettel was too aggressive, Arrivabene replied: “I think pointing the finger at somebody is not correct.

"Yes Kvyat was doing his race, coming into the curb at high speed but I think that Seb and Kimi would be doing the same in the Kvyat position. Now of course if you want to defend your position you move away and unfortunately Kimi was there but I mean this is racing, it’s not monopoly."