Sebastian Vettel suffered another setback on his comeback in Formula 1. In the first practice he had to park his car. Then drove the scooter – and now has to pay a fine.
The rear of his car was smoking, Vettel grabbed the fire extinguisher himself and pushed the car to a safe position with the help of marshals. After the end of the first practice session in Melbourne, he sped back to the pit lane on a scooter and waved at the audience with a smile. Aston Martin announced an engine change on Vettel’s racing car.
On Friday afternoon it became known that Vettel had to pay a fine for his scooter ride. The fine is 5,000 euros. The 34-year-old violated the sporting rules with his action shortly after the end of the first training session, the race stewards in Australia judged. Accordingly, it is forbidden for anyone to enter the track in the five minutes after the end of a practice session, unless they have a special permit. This also applies to racers.
Ferrari with a top impression
Vettel had previously set his fastest lap in 1:21.661 minutes. This put the 34-year-old in 13th place. Vettel had missed the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to a corona infection. The Australian Grand Prix (Sunday, 7 a.m. in the t-online live ticker) will be the first outing of the season for the four-time world champion, who was represented by Nico Hülkenberg.
Ferrari made a strong impression in sunny weather at Albert Park. Spaniard Carlos Sainz set the best time with 1:19.806 minutes. His teammate and world championship leader Charles Leclerc (1:20.337) was second, world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull (1:20.626) finished fourth.
Mercedes follows
Mercedes still has a large gap to the top. Record champion Lewis Hamilton (1:21.027) was more than a second behind Sainz in seventh place, but was faster than teammate George Russell (1:21.457). Mick Schumacher (1:24.349) only completed his first timed lap in the Haas after about half an hour. The 23-year-old, who missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to a serious accident in qualifying, finished last.
Sunday’s race will be Australia’s first since 2019. In the past two years, the traditional GP had been canceled due to the corona pandemic. Various changes have been made to the track in the meantime: more flat-out sections, wider corners and a fourth DRS zone should ensure more action and overtaking manoeuvres.