Sebastian Vettel's dark side came out once more during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as he reacted angrily to a suspected brake test under the Safety Car by driving his Ferrari into the side of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. But was the stop/go penalty handed out by the stewards strict enough? GPUpdate.net analyses.
A calm race turns chaotic
Hamilton, having cut Vettel's title lead to 12 points with an emphatic victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, again controlled the opening stages of Sunday's race at the Baku City Circuit.
Hamilton led Vettel by a handful of seconds, after their team-mates had collided at Turn 2, with Mercedes' tyre struggles ostensibly resolved – despite a scare on Friday.
But just as the field was settling in for a repeat of last year's dull encounter, Daniil Kvyat's sick Toro Rosso coming to a halt at the side of the track on lap 12 signalled the start of a manic phase.
Hamilton cut it fine as the race restarted, almost catching Bernd Mayländer's Mercedes-AMG GT before the first Safety Car line, though was quick to brush off his engineer's concerns.
Just moments later, with debris on track, the Safety Car made its second appearance, and it was during this period that the controversial Vettel/Hamilton incidents occurred.
Hamilton, having repeatedly complained over the radio about the Safety Car's leisurely pace, was seen weaving and slowing across the track in a bid to keep heat in his tyres and brakes.
And just before the second restart, as Hamilton led the field through the left-hand Turn 15, Vettel ran into the back of his slow-moving car.
Furious at what he felt was a brake test, in a bid to derail his race, and damage his title prospects, Vettel gesticulated, before pulling alongside Hamilton's car and making side-on-side contact.
As the race got back underway, amid the shock of what had just happened, incidents behind littered more debris over the circuit, leaving Race Control with no choice but to halt proceedings.
During the red flag, Vettel's red mist was repeated via replay on several occasions.
Who was in the wrong?
It is important to view the 'incidents' that way – separately.
Firstly, Vettel's belief that Hamilton had brake tested, which the stewards looked into after the race, using telemetry from Hamilton's car, alongside footage of the incident.
After detailed analysis, they determined that Hamilton had acted no differently at the second restart, compared to all other restarts, going as far as to describe his driving as "correct".
TV graphics, although questionable, showed Hamilton slowing from 63km/h at the apex to 51km/h at the exit, having braked slightly on entry, while Vettel went from around 70km/h to 45km/h, the point at which contact was made.
Hamilton, free to control the pace after the Safety Car light had been switched off, simply did not accelerate at the exit, which Vettel seemingly expected.
"It emerged that Hamilton did correctly, maintained a consistent speed and behaved in the same manner on that occasion as in all other restarts during the race," read a note from the FIA media delegate.
But regardless of fault for the first situation, Vettel's reaction was inexcusable.
After the race had restarted, Vettel was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty for "potentially dangerous" driving, with stewards agreeing that he had "steered into" Hamilton's car.
Daniel Ricciardo, the race winner amid the drama, and a former team-mate of Vettel, used his first-hand insight into the German's mindset to provide a neat summary.
"Seb probably sometimes doesn't think before he acts," said the Red Bull driver.
"It's probably driven through passion and hunger. He's kind of just got to put a lid on it sometimes.
"I respect Seb a lot for his grit and his love for the sport, which turns into a lot of passion and sometimes aggression. I respect and like that about him.
"But you have seen… whether it's over the radio, sometimes he will just go crazy. It is probably – what's the word – spur of the moment? There's a better word."
After seven mature, composed performances in 2017, befitting of a four-time champion, and worthy of the title lead, Vettel's disgruntled, 2016-self had (literally) come back with a bang.
Vettel's previous incidents
As Ricciardo alluded to, this is not the first time that Vettel has lost his head.
Alongside the stop/go penalty, Vettel had three more penalty points added to his licence, bringing his total for the 12-month period up to nine, meaning he is now just three points away from a race ban.
Vettel's penalty points tally:
2016 British Grand Prix – Forcing Felipe Massa off track (2 points)
2016 Malaysian Grand Prix – Turn 1 clash with Nico Rosberg (2 points)
2016 Mexican Grand Prix / Moving under braking (2 points)
2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Swiping Lewis Hamilton (3 points)
*Vettel will shed the first of his penalty points after the next round in Austria on July 9, with last year's British Grand Prix, where he picked up two penalty points, held on July 10
Who can forget Vettel's antics at last year's Mexican Grand Prix?
Vettel, running fourth, was frustrated that Red Bull rival Max Verstappen had not been told to cede third position after going wide at Turn 1, while under pressure from the Ferrari driver late on.
In a radio message broadcast at the finish, Vettel told Charlie Whiting to "f*** off", and was later demoted to fifth after the stewards deemed he drove dangerously as he defended from Ricciardo.
Ironically, Vettel's move on Ricciardo broke the rule that had been introduced in a bid to soften Verstappen's approach, following complaints from several drivers, including Vettel, through the season.
Vettel sought out Whiting immediately after the race to apologise for his radio outburst and sent letters to the Race Director and FIA President Jean Todt following the weekend's action.
After looking into the matter, the FIA opted not to bring disciplinary action against Vettel, but reminded him, and his competitors, of the example they are expected to set to youngsters.
It also warned that, if a similar, damaging situation arose in the future, disciplinary action would be taken by bringing such an incident before the FIA International Tribunal to be judged.
Was the penalty strict enough?
Given his retaliation on Sunday, and previous hot-headed moments, Vettel should count himself lucky to have escaped with a stop/go penalty, albeit the harshest non-black flag sanction available to stewards, before moving on to the post-event extreme of a tribunal.
Reports in Germany claim that Vettel was close to being disqualified from the race, with the stewards applying no more than a stop/go as they did not want to significantly influence the title battle.
Vettel was also fortunate to add to his championship lead over Hamilton (now up to 14 points), after Hamilton's loose headrest, which forced an extra pit-stop, proved even more costly than Vettel's penalty.
Vettel is a phenomenal driver, and one of the stars of his generation, but these moments of madness, the latest of which surely leaves him treading on thin ice with officials, threaten to tarnish his reputation.
How he comes back from this episode will be of great interest.
Will he accept that he overstepped the mark and work on his temperament? Or will this alternative character reappear once he inevitably gets put under pressure again?
It may well prove crucial in the race for the title...
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