Sebastian Vettel penalized for impeding Alonso
Sebastian Vettel has received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Fernando Alonso in the final seconds of Q2. Also summoned to the stewards, Valtteri Bottas escaped a penalty.

At the very end of the second qualifying session, Fernando Alonso was ahead of his reference time and could potentially access Q3. However, the Alpine driver was impeded by Sebastian Vettel, who was driving slowly between turns 9 and 10, forcing the Spanish driver to significantly slow down. Car number 5 from Aston Martin prevented the two-time champion from completing his lap properly, preventing him from achieving a good position in the standings.
Immediately, the Spanish veteran expressed his dissatisfaction with the German, who realized his mistake and apologized to #14. This dangerous maneuver has resulted in a 3-place grid penalty for Vettel tomorrow as well as a deduction of one point from his Super License.
The Aston Martin driver will finally start in 11th place, with Sainz, Stroll, and Russell benefiting from this penalty to gain a position.
Also summoned to the stewards for slowing down too much after Turn 9 and not respecting the race director’s instructions, Valtteri Bottas, for his part, was exempt from any penalty. The race stewards deemed that too many drivers had done the same for a single responsibility to be assigned.
At the end of Q2, Bottas slowed down at the entry of turn 9 to create a gap for his final lap. This is contrary to Article 24.2 a of the Race Director’s Notes. However, considering that many drivers ended up forming a queue in this area of the track, the stewards determine that too many drivers contributed to the situation and therefore the driver in question is not fully responsible. », explain the stewards’ report.