Vettel disqualified from qualifying

Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday's Abu Dhabi GP from the very back of the grid after being disqualified for a fuel infringement

The Red Bull racer had qualified his RB8 in third place but stopped out on track on his in-lap after reportedly being told by engine supplier Renault to do so.

However, under F1 regulations all drivers have to make it back to the pits after qualifying and they have to do so with one litre of fuel in the tank. And as Vettel had not made it back, this prompted a stewards' investigation.

Article 6.6.2 of the Technical Regulations states: "Competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the Event.

"Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power."

The stewards called Vettel and his team into their offices to explain the stoppage but once it was learnt that the car was also short of fuel he was disqualified.

"The stewards heard from the driver and team representatives and studied telemetry evidence that showed the reason why the car was stopped," said a FIA statement.

"The Stewards accepted the explanation and considered the incident as being a case of force majeure.

"However a report was received from the Technical Delegate that showed during post-qualifying scrutineering an insufficient quantity of fuel for sampling purposes."

Source: Planet-F1