Although Martin Whitmarsh insists Sebastian Vettel did not crash into Jenson Button on purpose, the McLaren boss reckons the German is becoming known for his accidents.
In Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, Vettel effectively put two Championship contenders out of the running for points when he crashed into Button on lap 16 as he attempted to find a way past the reigning World title.
But instead of passing Button, Vettel hit a bump at the Bus Stop chicane that caused him to spear into the side of the McLaren driver.
The crash put Button out of the race and sent Vettel into the pits for repairs. It also earned the Red Bull racer a drive-through penalty or causing an avoidable accident.
"Sebastian is getting into a bad habit. He is a crash kid," said Whitmarsh. "It was not what you would expect to see in Formula One. It was more reminiscent of junior formulae."
The accident was not the first that Vettel has caused this season as he also crashed into his own Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber as they were fighting for the lead in May's Turkish GP, prompting Whitmarsh to declare: "I'd rather he did it with his team-mate than with ours."
However, the McLaren boss is confident that Vettel's mistake, which cost both him and Button valuable points in the Championship fight, was not orchestrated.
"I realise what happened wasn't intentional, but it was a bit of a strange mistake," he added.
"If he was going for the inside he had about three inches to sneak down there, so God knows what he thought he was doing, but he lost it."
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