Sebastian Vettel is due to face the stewards for “entering the track without permission” after he rode a scooter back to the pit lane.
The Aston Martin driver was forced to stop on the track when his engine started smoking before it eventually cut out entirely. Vettel quickly leapt from his car and grabbed a fire extinguisher from a marshal post, before dousing the rear of his AMR22.
The stoppage resulted in a brief red flag as Vettel’s car was pushed off track just minutes before the end of the opening practice session.
When the checkered flag finally fell, Vettel commandeered a scooter and rode back to the pits with his helmet perched on his head as he waved to the crowd, often taking both hands off the handlebars.
The stewards then put up a notice to say that Vettel had been placed under investigation for “entering the track without permission”.
Article 26.7 of the F1 sporting regulations stipulates that nobody can enter the track within a five minute period following every practice session, except for marshals, a driver when driving or on foot with prior permission or team personnel in the act of pushing a car or clearing equipment.
This is the four-time champions first race weekend of the year after he caught covid ahead of the season-opener in Bahrain, forcing him to miss that weekend and the following race weekend in Saudi Arabia.
