Vettel faces possible penalty over Bahrain F1 qualifying incident

Sebastian Vettel has been summoned to report to the Formula 1 stewards ahead of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix after an alleged yellow flag rules breach in qualifying.

Vettel endured a bad start to life at his new Aston Martin team after he was knocked out of qualifying in Q1. The four-time world champion had turned in a poor first lap and saw his second effort compromised when Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin spun in front of him at Turn 1.

Mazepin’s spin - which was caused by a brake-by-wire issue - brought out the yellow flags and forced Vettel to abandon his final flying effort, leaving him a disappointing 18th.

But the German faces the threat of a possible penalty for Sunday’s opening race of the 2021 season after being called to a meeting with the stewards on Sunday afternoon.

A stewards’ document issued on Saturday evening noted that Vettel would be investigated for “allegedly non-respecting double yellow flags at Turn 1.”

Vettel will meet the stewards at 1:30pm local time on Sunday, six and a half hours before the Bahrain Grand Prix is due to get underway.

After being eliminated in the opening session of his qualifying debut for Aston Martin, Vettel said he was “upset and angry”.

"If I panicked now it wouldn't help," he told Sky Sports F1. "For sure I'm upset and angry - it was not our fault in a way - not to make it through, but we have to take it and do what we can to prepare for tomorrow."