Vettel to face stewards over his ‘behaviour’ in meeting

Editor
Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Spielberg, July 2022.

Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Spielberg, July 2022.

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel will visit the Austrian Grand Prix stewards on Saturday evening having been summoned on unusual grounds.

Vettel will face the stewards at 6pm local time (5pm UK) in Austria, with the four-time former World Champion summoned for an “alleged breach of Article 12.2.1 f) of the International Sporting Code and Article 20.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations – Behaviour at the Drivers’ Meeting”.

The article in question suggests Vettel is being brought before the stewards – which include former grand prix driver Enrique Bernoldi – on the grounds of “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport and on the values defended by the FIA”.

What Vettel is alleged to have done has not been made clear by the FIA, and PlanetF1 have approached Aston Martin for comment about the situation.

Vettel retired from the sprint qualifying race at the Red Bull Ring having started from the back of the grid.

Vaulting up to 14th in the early stages, Vettel was tagged by Williams’ Alex Albon while battling for position and spun into the gravel. Aston Martin chose to retire Vettel following the incident due to damage on his car. Albon was given a five-second time penalty for the clash.

Update: The stewards have since reached a verdict on Sebastian Vettel, and have found the German driver guilty of the alleged offence. He has been given a €25,000 fine, with the full reasoning behind the punishment outlined here.