Sebastian Vettel capped a miserable Austrian Grand Prix weekend by discovering of his five-second penalty for track limits infringements during a media interview after the race.
Formula One handed the German a €25,000 (£21,700) suspended fine for walking out of Friday’s drivers’ briefing before he retired from Saturday’s Sprint after a clash with Alex Albon.
Starting 18th, four-time world champion Vettel fought into the midfield before spinning off into the gravel in the second half of Sunday’s race after contact with Pierre Gasly, which earned the Frenchman a five-second time penalty.
Already well out of the points, the German came home to later be hit with his own five-second penalty, dropping him to 17th of 17 finishers, as stewards clamped down on drivers riding the kerbs and gaining an advantage.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” he told Sky F1 after being questioned in a post-race interview. “Doesn’t matter. Well it does... I had three and I didn’t get a warning so I don’t know how I can get a penalty if I didn’t have a warning.
“I had three strikes, that was what I was told until the last lap and then it goes to five? That’s a bit strange.”
Vettel railed “what is wrong with these people, can I have a race without these clowns?” on team radio after the Gasly incident, and spoke post-race of an issue impacting F1 drivers that fans may not have noticed.
He added: “I think that’s something they need to work on because the design of the brake ducts this year is blowing all the brake dust into our faces - and it’s not good.
“Obviously carbon dust is not really something healthy to breathe in. I hope the FIA looks into this very soon because it’s pointless and easy to change.”
