Vettel gets three-place grid drop for Japan

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel has been given a three-place grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix, after the stewards deemed that he caused a collision with Nico Rosberg in Malaysia.

Vettel, who started fifth, moved past both Red Bull drivers on the approach to the first corner, but banged wheels with Max Verstappen and then ran into Rosberg's Mercedes.

Rosberg was sent spinning to the back of the pack, before a spirited recovery drive to third position, while Vettel retired from the Grand Prix with front-left suspension damage.

After reviewing the incident, the stewards decided to penalize the Ferrari driver.

"Having thoroughly reviewed the video and having spoken to the driver concerned, the stewards determined that although the cars involved in the incident were all moving at relatively similar speeds, the driver of Car 5 made a small error entering to the inside of Turn 1 that led to the contact with Car 6," read a statement issued by the stewarding panel, which included Derek Warwick at Sepang.

"Car 6 was caused to spin and lose multiple positions, which the stewards determined was predominantly the fault of the driver of Car 5 and therefore ordered the penalty for causing a collision."

Vettel had commented post-race: "In the end there's not much to say.

"The braking point that both Max and I set for Turn 1 wasn't crazy. Nico was doing his thing and the delta speed when we arrived at the apex was big enough to just make contact."

Vettel was also given two penalty points, increasing his total to four.