Sebastian Vettel has been handed a three-place grid penalty for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, following a breach of red flag rules in FP1.
The session, held in wet conditions, was halted when Sauber’s Charles Leclerc went wide through Turn 9 and dragged gravel back onto the circuit.
Officials deemed it necessary for the track surface to be cleaned and brought out the red flags.
Vettel was alleged to have failed to slow sufficiently during that red flag period and was summoned to meet the stewards at the Circuit of the Americas.
Stewards deemed that Vettel had been in breach of the regulations and have handed down the demotion, meaning he will drop three places from wherever he qualifies.
The sanction is in line with the penalties issued to Daniel Ricciardo in Australia and Esteban Ocon in Japan for similar transgressions.
"The stewards reviewed the video evidence, positioning data and telemetry, and heard from the driver of car 5 (Sebastian Vettel) and team representative," read a report.
"The stewards found that Vettel did, in fact, fail to stay above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU in marshalling sectors 6 and 7.
"As the regulation states, Article 31.6 was added this year to ensure that drivers reduce speed significantly during a red flag. Breach of this regulation is seen to be an extremely serious matter.
"To be consistent with previous decisions on similar incidents this year, the stewards assessed the penalty specified above."
Vettel has also been issued with two penalty points on his Super License, bringing his 12-month rolling total to five.
It is Vettel's second grid drop of the season, having copped a three-place demotion for impeding Carlos Sainz Jr. during qualifying in Austria.
It acts as a further blow to Vettel’s dwindling title prospects, with the Ferrari driver facing a 67-point deficit to Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton can clinch the title in Sunday’s Grand Prix if he out-scores Vettel by eight points.
The Mercedes driver comfortably led the way in both of Friday's practice sessions.
See also: Vettel calls for "common sense" after grid penalty
Discussion about this post