Niki Lauda thinks Sebastian Vettel went "crazy" and "freaked out" when he drove into the side of Lewis Hamilton's car in Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Vettel earned himself a 10-second stop-go penalty and three points on his superlicence -- moving him closer to a one-race ban -- when he drove up alongside the No.44 Mercedes and turned into it. The four-time world champion had been protesting what he perceived to be a brake-test from Hamilton as the race leader prepared for a Safety Car restart, though the stewards' review of Mercedes' data showed no brake-test had taken place.
Lauda says the incident was out of character for Vettel.
"Vettel is a decent guy," Mercedes' non-executive chairman told reporters after the race. "Normally. This I don't understand, because he's crazy.
When asked if the incident tarnishes Vettel's reputation, Lauda said: "Sure... Strange. He freaked out."
Lauda believes Vettel was treated leniently by the stewards as his move was one occurring at a time when the pace of the race was being managed by the Safety Car.
"Nobody can criticise the stewards because they are what they are, like a referee... but they could have done more, certainly because I think it's the worst you can do. If you overtake somebody and drive into him as a mistake, fine, but this was deliberately in a phase of the race where you are driving slow."
With the data proving Hamilton had not done a brake-test on Vettel, Lauda thinks it's fair to say Vettel was at fault for both incidents -- the original collision and the swipe to the right.
"You have to be so under control yourself that you don't do that. First he was upset he hit him up the back but this was also his fault, not Lewis' fault. Therefore what he did after I don't understand. He could have damaged his car, Lewis' car and could have been taken out of race, so I don't know why he is risking all of that."