Vettel and Button summoned by the stewards in Singapore
After nearly colliding during the restart following the first safety car intervention, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button were summoned by the stewards to provide further explanations about the incident.
If Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button both finished the Singapore Grand Prix in the top two positions, it could have been quite different as the German and the Brit almost collided at the restart after the first safety car intervention.
Indeed, in order to ensure a good restart, the drivers try to keep their tires and brakes at temperature by zigzagging on the track and performing several brakings. It was following an evidently too forceful braking by Sebastian Vettel at turn no. 16 that Jenson Button almost collided with the Red Bull: « Sebastian was accelerating and braked for the right turn: I did not expect it. There was such a difference in speed. I locked the wheels and avoided his car, even though it could have been embarrassing. »
If the incident did not have real consequences on the track, and even though no investigation was announced during the race, the stewards, among whom Allan McNish sits, deemed it useful to hear from both drivers after the race. Indeed, Article 40.13 of the Formula One sporting regulations stipulates that « to avoid any risk of accident before the safety car returns to the pits, from the moment the light bar above the car is turned off, drivers must drive at a pace that does not involve erratic acceleration, braking, or any other maneuver that could endanger other drivers or hinder the restart ».
It seems, however, unlikely that the Red Bull driver will be stripped of his victory, as the stewards may choose to issue a reprimand, a fine, or a grid penalty for the next Grand Prix.
Update: After analyzing Sebastian Vettel’s telemetry data, the stewards concluded that there was no evidence of erratic driving by the German driver.
