After riding a scooter back to the pit lane, Sebastian Vettel is expected to face the stewards for entering the track without permission.
When the Aston Martin driver’s engine began to smoke, he was forced to come to a complete stop on the course. Vettel jumped out of his car and swiftly grabbed a fire extinguisher from a marshal station, dousing the rear of his AMR22.
Vettel’s car was forced off track only minutes before the end of the first practice session, resulting in a temporary red light.
Vettel commandeered a marshal’s scooter and rode back to the pits, his helmet perched on his head as he waved to the spectators, often taking both hands off the handlebars.
The stewards subsequently posted a notice on the board stating that Vettel was being investigated for “entering the track without authorisation.”
Except for marshals, a driver when driving or on foot with prior permission, or team staff in the process of moving a car or clearing equipment, no one can enter the circuit within a five-minute interval following each practice session, according to Article 26.7 of the F1 sports laws.
This is Vettel’s first race weekend of the year after contracting covid before the season opener in Bahrain, causing him to miss that weekend as well as the following weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Four other drivers were sent to the stewards for obstructing each other during the weekend’s first session namely Carlos Sainz Jr., Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, and Vettel’s teammate Lance Stroll.
