F1: Vettel risks further sanction after Baku clash

TIL Desk Sports/ Ferrari’s Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel risks further sanctions after the governing body re-examines his ‘road rage’ clash with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said on Wednesday that it would take another look at the evidence on Monday. “The FIA will further examine the causes of the incident in order to evaluate whether further action is necessary,” it announced in a statement.

The outcome of that process will be made public before the Austrian Grand Prix weekend of July 7-9. Race stewards imposed a 10 second stop and go penalty on Vettel after he hit the back of race leader Hamilton’s car and then angrily pulled alongside and banged wheels while both were behind the safety car.

They ruled, after an examination of the video evidence, that Vettel had steered into Hamilton in a “potentially dangerous” manoeuvre. Some commentators felt the German had got off lightly, with Vettel ultimately finishing fourth and extending his overall lead to 14 points.