Lewis Hamilton’s chances of being crowned world champion at the US Grand Prix were dealt a major boost on Friday night after Sebastian Vettel was hit with a grid penalty.
The Ferrari driver will be pushed back three places after he was found guilty of failing to slow sufficiently under red flags during opening practice.
If Hamilton wins on Sunday, and Vettel, who can now start the race from no higher than fourth, fails to finish in the top two, the Briton will secure his fifth title with three
rounds remaining.
Vettel was summoned to the stewards following the incident in the first running of the day here at a rain-sodden Circuit of the Americas.
The session was temporarily suspended with gravel on the track following a spin by the Sauber of Charles Leclerc.
Vettel, whose championship challenge has been littered by a series of mistakes, was found guilty of driving too quickly when the red flags were issued.
In addition to his grid penalty, the German was also hit with two points on his drivers’ licence.
“There should be common sense with the rules we have,” Vettel told Sky Sports.
“The stewards were very specific. They said I took 27.7 seconds to slow down. I saw the red flag. I slowed down, and they found that it took me too long.
“It is the first time we have had this ruling in the wet and you literally have to stop 30 or 40 kilometres per hour which I should do next time.
“In my opinion it’s not the right thing to do, the car behind might run into you, but it’s more important you don’t get the penalty.”
Hamilton, who was fastest in both practice sessions in Austin on Friday, needs to outscore Vettel by just eight points to win the championship, and emulate Juan Manuel Fangio with a quintet of titles.
