Red Bull Racing have been asked by the race stewards to explain why Sebastian Vettel’s car did not return to the pits after his qualifying lap.
Vettel secured third place on the grid behind Lewis Hamilton and teammate Mark Webber. However on his in-lap, the German driver was ordered to stop his car via team radio and he pulled over at Turn 19.
According to F1 regulations, drivers must return to the pits after their qualifying session to allow a one litre fuel sample to be taken from their car.
Article 6.6.2 of the technical regulations says, “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.”
As yet, Red Bull Racing have not revealed why Vettel was asked to pull his car over.