Sebastian Vettel believes he could have fought Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, had he made a better start.

The Red Bull driver finished the race fourth - 19 seconds behind winner Button, but is certain that he could have got in among the Brawns had he not been passed by Felipe Massa's Ferrari at the beginning.

"It's a disappointing race for me," Vettel, who started from the front row, told BBC TV. "Because I think the car was very, very quick today, very competitive and I'm sure we could definitely fight with the Brawns.

"Unfortunately Felipe got past me at the start and I was stuck behind him all race. I tried to pass a couple of times, but I never really got close enough to start a manoeuvre.

"It's just very frustrating to see two cars in front pulling away and you're stuck behind a red car for 63 laps. It's very frustrating, especially when you know you can go so much quicker."

While clearly being quicker through the corners than Massa, Vettel was unable to stay with the Ferrari on the straights due to the Brazilian using his KERS to keep the German at bay.

Vettel eventually passed Massa for fourth with three laps to go, the Ferrari driver being forced to back off in order to save fuel and reach the chequered flag.

His time behind the Brazilian allowed team-mate Mark Webber – who had started and run behind them all race – to leapfrog the pair at the final round of pitstops.

"It's a shame when Felipe ran out of fuel, but obviously I was happier to pass him than I had been for the previous 63 laps stuck behind him."

Vettel's points enabled him to retain his third place in the world championship, albeit losing ground on second place Barrichello.
Source: Autosport.com

1. Jenson Button
2. Rubens Barrichello
3. Mark Webber
4. Sebastian Vettel

1. Jenson Button Brawn Mercedes 646.0
2. Sebastian Vettel RBR Renault 651.5
3. Rubens Barrichello Brawn Mercedes 649.5
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 655.0
5. Mark Webber RBR Renault 651.5
6. Timo Glock Toyota 646.5
7. Jarno Trulli Toyota 655.5
8. Fernando Alonso Renault 645.0
9. Nico Rosberg Williams Toyota 668.0
10. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 660.0

Sebastian Vettel admitted he was frustrated to miss out on pole for the Spanish Grand Prix - but insisted second was still a good result given Red Bull's mediocre practice form.

"We have a very strong car and this weekend it seems to work pretty well, so I'm very pleased," he said. "On the first run in Q3 I felt very comfortable in the car, and on the second run the lap time was good - unfortunately not good enough to beat Jenson today. I would have wished to have the pole, but at the last minute he took it away.

"But second position, and the front row, is great, especially as I think we had a very good recovery from yesterday, when we were struggling a little bit with the balance of the car."

The German also praised the Red Bull team for working late into the night to ensure the RB5 was fitted with the very latest updates created back at the factory.

"Some of the parts arrived at the last minute so they had to trim and mould them to the car," Vettel said. "It was all a bit tight and there were long nights, not a lot of sleep, but they can have more today."
Source: ITV

1. BUTTON Brawn 1m20.527s
2. VETTEL Red Bull 1m20.660s
3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m20.762s

1. Felipe Massa 1:20.553
2. Kimi Raikkonen 1:20.635 0.082 0.082
3. Jenson Button 1:21.050 0.415 0.497

16. Sebastian Vettel 1:21.689 0.004 1.136