Sebastian Vettel's opening F1 weekend just went from bad to worse, with the Bahrain GP stewards sending the Aston Martin driver to the back of the grid for a yellow flag infringement in qualifying.
Vettel was caught out at the end of Q1 by a yellow flag deployed at Turn 1 sparked by a spin by Haas' Nikita Mazepin.
The incident deprived Vettel of a final attempt to make the Q2 cut, but also prompted an investigation by the stewards over a potential double yellow flags breach by the German driver.
Vettel was heard by the stewards on Sunday, but the latter eventually deemed that the Aston Martin driver, contrary to several of his rivals who had also arrived at Turn 1, had failed to respect the double yellow flags signal deployed at the corner.
"Vettel did not abandon his lap," read the FIA stewards' note. "He explained 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 also observed that Vettel "had already passed the signal panel when it was 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."
The statement also highlighted the fact that during the drivers' briefing on Friday, FIA race director Michael Masi "emphasized that the flag code must be rigorously enforced".
The stewards recognized that Vettel "slowed slightly approaching the incident but continued trying to set a meaningful lap time," adding that 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."
The end result for Vettel is P20 start to his race, or two spots lower than his qualifying position. However, the four-time world champion was also the recipient of three penalty points that have been added to his licence.
Haas driver Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin gain a spot on grid, with the pair starting respectively P18 and P19.
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