Sebastian Vettel declared he had no regrets after a failed attempt to seize the lead in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix cost him a place on the podium.

Sitting second behind Valtteri Bottas, the Ferrari driver tried to overtake the leader on lap 47 after the safety car had left the track.

Vettel's gamble backfired, however, as he locked up and ended going into the run-off. The setback dropped him down to fourth and, with little time left in the race, he was unable to make up lost ground on those ahead of him.

The German ended up with 12 points instead of 18, allowing Lewis Hamilton - who recorded a fortunate victory after Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas suffered an untimely late puncture - to take over at the top of the overall standings.

"No regrets. I'm happy that I tried [the overtake], I'm not happy it didn't work. But I have to try," the four-time world champion told Sky Sports.

"I don't think it was overly optimistic to jump down the inside. I was a bit trapped because I couldn't see where I was relative to Turn One.

"Obviously I see Turn One, but we have our reference on the right, there's the kerb on the ground, there's the signs on the wall. On the left there's hardly any reference, there's just the wall and the fence but it's all the same down to Turn One.

"Once I jumped down the inside I locked up, I wasn't overly late because otherwise I don't make the corner at all but I did make it, just. I think I lost because then also the lock-up decelerated the car as much as you could.

"Other than that, I think it was a strong race and that's how it goes sometimes."

Vettel, who had started on pole position in Baku, now sits four points behind leader Hamilton after four races of the 2018 season.