Red Bull blocks Vettel Ferrari test

Ferrari's soon-to-be-announced $80 million per year man will have to wait to test for the Scuderia until February

Sebastian Vettel has branded the rule that makes it likely that he will sit out qualifying at the US Grand Prix on Saturday week as "completely stupid", while Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has also confirmed that the world champion will not be released to drive for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi test on November 28th.

Vettel has used up his full annual allocation of five power units and will need to fit a new motor for qualifying in Austin.

It means that F1 fans in the USA at Austin on the Saturday will not see the reigning world champion during the qualifying session. He argues he is likely to have to start from the pit lane, so there is no reason to go out in any of the three sessions and put mileage on the engine.

The German qualified 11th for last weekend's Russian Grand Prix and not running on Saturday carries the advantage of saving precious engine mileage. In addition, the sanction for changing a complete power unit including all six elements is having to start from the pitlane, so Red Bull look likely to opt for the full penalty.

In confirming that he is likely to sit out qualifying in Texas, Vettel made his disdain for the rule abundantly clear.

"It looks like it will happen in Austin," he said "The rule is of course completely stupid. So the people turn on the television and see a driver who just stands around and has nothing to do. What does that mean?

"There is no point in going out for qualifying when you have to start from the pit lane anyway. Have you perhaps a few suggestions on how I could spend Saturday afternoon in Austin?"

The FIA rulebook states that each driver may use no more than five power units during the championship season.

The power unit consists of six separate elements, of which five of each element are available to each driver per season before a penalty is incurred.

The six elements are: the engine, the motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), the energy store (ES), turbocharger (TC) and control electronics (CE). The penalty for using more than five of any one range from a five-place grid drop, a 10-place grid drop, or (if the entire power unit has to be changed) starting the race from the pit lane.

Meanwhile Dietrich Mateschitz has said that he won't release Vettel to test for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi test after the final race of the season, the Red Bull boss confirming that Vettel will be released on the 28th November, thus missing the two-day test on November 25th and 26th.

"Five days after the last race, Sebastian will be free." said Mateschitz who also revealed to Speedweek, a magazine owned by Red Bull, that Vettel will also not have the latest technical updates in the final three races.

"But this won't mean he will have worse equipment than Ricciardo" he added.

The news means that Vettel's first opportunity to drive for Ferrari will be at Jerez next February.
"Sometimes you need to change. We wish him the best. It's a mutual split and it's the best thing for both sides," added the Red Bull owner. James Allen on F1