Vettel to start last at F1 Bahrain GP after five-place grid drop

Sebastian Vettel will start Formula 1’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix from last place after being punished for failing to respect yellow flag rules in qualifying.

The four-time world champion endured a disappointing qualifying debut for his new Aston Martin team after being eliminated in Q1 with a lap time that was only good enough for 18th-place.

Vettel was summoned to report to the F1 stewards in Sakhir on Sunday afternoon ahead of the first race of 2021 after an alleged yellow flags rules breach when Nikita Mazepin spun at Turn 1.

After meeting with the stewards, Vettel was adjudged to have not properly respected the double-waved flags in Q1 and was subsequently handed a five-place grid penalty for the offence.

As a result, he will drop to last place on the grid behind Haas duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin on his Aston Martin grand prix debut.

The German has also picked up three penalty points for the infringement.

The stewards statement in full:

“Car nine [Mazepin] spun at turn one in the last moments of Q1 bringing out a double yellow flag in the marshalling sector.

"Bottas, Vettel, Perez and Russell approached the scene and drove past Mazepin. Bottas, was immediately instructed by his team to abort his lap in accordance with the Race Director’s Event Notes (Point 7.1).

"Perez and Russell had received the chequered flag, and were instructed to slow, with Russell receiving the additional information that it had been a double yellow sector.

"Vettel did not abandon his lap. He explained to the stewards that he saw the smoke ahead of him, but was unsure if it was a lock-up or a stopped car until he was quite close to the car and the smoke was lifting.

"The stewards observed that he had already passed the signal panel when it illuminated as he approached the scene, and that the marshals in that turn had not yet reacted with a yellow flag.

"Nevertheless, Vettel was approaching a car that was stopped sideways on the track and by the rule this would necessitate a double yellow flag.

"During the drivers’ briefing, the race director emphasised that the flag code must be rigorously enforced.

"The Stewards consider that the requirement to abandon the lap during practice and qualifying, both in the Code and in the race director’s notes was instituted to disincentivise the drivers from any type of management of their speeds approaching an incident, with a view to maybe setting a lap time, when the requirement is that they should be able to completely stop when approaching such an incident.

"In this case, it was clear that the driver slowed slightly approaching the incident, but continued trying to set a meaningful lap time.

"In this case, the driver would have received a warning on his dash and the team should have been able to see that the sector had been a double yellow and could have advised the driver as other teams did.

"While the argument that the driver was already inside the sector when it went double yellow evokes sympathy, the stewards feel it is important to note that he was approaching an incident visible ahead of him.

"Further, the car ahead, in the same position, was instructed to abandon the lap, as is intended by the race director’s notes.

"The stewards, therefore, order the usual penalty in this case, a drop of five grid positions."