F1 collision: Vettel insults Narain Karthikeyan, calls 'cucumber'

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Narain Karthikeyan’s slow Hispania Racing Formula One car has earned him a brickbat at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.

An angry Sebastian Vettel has referred the Indian a 'cucumber' on a German TV after the reigning world champion’s potential fourth place finish was blown away by a collision with Narain. Vettel suffered a puncture when Narain’s front wing clipped the rear tyre of Red Bull.

“He (Narain) was off the track. In my view, it was over. As in real life, there are a few cucumbers on the road. It's extremely frustrating, because in a chaotic race where I lost the radio right at the beginning, a fourth place would have been satisfactory,” the German fumed.

In German, Cucumber can be used in the context of calling someone an 'oaf'.

Narain, who was penalised for causing the collision and docked with a 20-second penalty, had another collision earlier with Jenson Button, damaging his front wing.

Unlike Vettel, who didn’t mince words while blaming Narain, Button acknowledged his mistake. “I was struggling to keep the tyres up temperature and it was totally my fault. I hit the brakes, I lost the rear. I was struggling to get the car slowed down. I tried to get around the corner but I couldn't do anything but hit him really,” said Button.

A dignified Narain was quick in apologizing. He felt sorry for Button as well Vettel.

“I didn't think he (Button) would pass there, because you really don't want to get in their way, and if I had seen him coming I would have moved over. But I didn't in the chaos, and I kept continuing. Then there was the incident with Vettel.

"I was letting everyone through on blue flags because I was being told on the radio. I got on the white line, which was still damp, and I was on slicks obviously so I had a lot of wheelspin. I then had to come back on the track from the kerb, and he was there unfortunately and I could not do anything,” said Narain.