Sebastian Vettel has been handed a suspended €25,000 fine after facing the F1 stewards once his "behaviour at the driver's briefing" was called into question.
The Aston Martin driver was questioned at 6pm local time in the Austrian hills to explain his actions, which occurred in Friday's driver's briefing. The German "left the drivers’ meeting, which was held at 7.30pm, without permission, and expressing frustration at the meeting". He has since met with the race director and apologised.
The four-time world champion was pinned for what was a “breach of Article 12.2.1 f) of the International Sporting Code and Article 20.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.” The ISC article states “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” as a potential breach of the rules.
Sergio Perez, George Russell, Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher also faced the stewards for for "messages during the formation lap" following Saturday's sprint.
Friday’s driver briefing was yet another lengthy and animated discussion between the drivers and race direction, according to The Race. As the season has gone on the dialogue and relationship between drivers and those who officiate the race has become tense.
F1 made changes in light of last season's final race drama, axing Michael Masi from his then role. They opted to share race direction between Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, but the belief is that this is still not getting the necessary results. Wittich is in charge this weekend in the Styrian hills.
Vettel has not been shy in airing his opinion, especially as his career has gone on. He's had his issues with the stewards, especially during his Ferrari tenure. The German was classified 19th in Saturday's sprint race after failing to finish with Max Verstappen taking the chequered flag, which means he will start on pole in Sunday's race ahead of the two Ferraris.
The Dutchman said: "We had good pace at the beginning and after that we were very closely matched, it was as a sprint should go, it was quite flat out. I do expect tomorrow is going to be a very interesting battle again."
Charles Leclerc, who finished second, said: "It was tricky. The first part of the race was all about managing. Max was pushing and I was just trying to look after my tyres. I had a small fight with Carlos and then I started to push towards the end and could close in a bit but it was very close."
