F1 OTD: Why did Sebastian Vettel claim 'we were robbed' after the 2019 Canadian GP 

On this day in 2019, former four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel claimed that he was 'robbed' of his win at the Canadian GP in Montreal.

Heading into the race in 2019, it had been an inconsistent season for Vettela dn Ferarri as they had struggled to match the pace of rival Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. However, the now-retired German driver took the pole position from his British rival for the main race.

After a clean gateway from the line, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton checked away from the field to compete against themselves. Owing to a superior race pace, Hamilton was able to close in on Vettel and forced him into a mistake that send him into the grass.

While rejoining, the Ferrari driver squeezed his rival close to the wall and earned himself a five-second penalty from the stewards. He pleaded his case to no avail and handed over the win to Hamilton in a controversial manner. Vettel on his team radio said:

"I had nowhere to go. Seriously, I had nowhere to go! Where the hell am I supposed to go? I had grass in my wheels. They are stealing the race from us."

In the park ferme, Sebastian Vettel swapped the winner's sign with Hamilton's car to make his feelings clear.

On his team radio post-race, Vettel said:

"No, no, no! Seriously, you need to be an absolute blind man to think that you can go through the grass and then control your car. I was lucky that I didn't hit the wall. Where the hell am I supposed to go? This is the wrong world, I tell you."

Sebastian Vettel expresses his feelings about the 2019 Canadian GP

In his post-race press conference, Sebastian Vettel after gaining some composure that he was a 'purist' of the sport and had to accept the decision.

He said:

"I was just thinking that I really love my racing. I'm a purist, I love going back and looking at the old times, the old cars, the old drivers. It's an honor when you have the chance to meet them and talk to them; they're heroes in a way. So I really love that but I just wish I was maybe as good, at doing what I do, but being in their time rather than today.

"It is what it is. As I said, there are too many paragraphs [in the regulations]. What can you change, how can you change? Just burn the papers."

After this incident, the stewards did become more lenient in terms of the wheel-to-wheel racing rules.