Vettel finished second on the Hungaroring behind first-time winner Esteban Ocon after he couldn’t get past the Alpine pilot, and took his second podium for his new team in 2021.
After crossing the finish line, Vettel parked his car at Turn 12 on the side of the track after being instructed to stop by Aston Martin over the team radio.
It later emerged that the German did not complete the cool-down lap due to a lack of fuel in his car.
During the technical inspection after the race, it was not possible for the FIA to take a sample of one liter of fuel from Vettel’s Aston Martin for fuel control purposes, as required by the regulations.
The technical delegate Jo Bauer referred the matter to the commissioners and stated that “only a 0.3 liter sample” of fuel could be taken from the car.
This violated Article 6.6.2 of the Technical Regulations of Formula 1 2021, which states that “the participants must ensure that a 1.0 liter fuel sample can be taken from the car at any time during the event”.
Aston Martin then tried, under the supervision of the FIA, to take the required 1-liter sample, but this did not succeed, which resulted in Vettel being disqualified.
In their ruling, issued at 10 p.m. local time, the FIA commissioners stated: “The team had several options to try to remove the required amount of fuel from the tank, but only 0.3 liters could be pumped out.
“During the hearing, in the presence of the FIA Technical Delegate and the FIA Technical Director, the Aston Martin team boss explained that there must be 1.44 liters in the tank, but they cannot get it out. This figure is calculated with the FFM- or injector model.
“In view of this situation, vehicle no. 5 does not meet the requirements of Art. 6.6 of the FIA Technical Regulations. According to Art. 6.6.2, the competitors must ensure that a 1.0 liter fuel sample can be taken from the vehicle at all times. The procedure was followed but the 1.0 liter fuel sample could not be taken. “
Aston Martin has the right to appeal the stewards’ decision, but it is not yet clear whether they will.
The decision is a boost for Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton in his title fight against Red Bulls Max Verstappen, who moves up from third to second place and increases his lead in the table from six to eight points.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz inherits last place on the podium, while Williams duo Nicholas Latifi and George Russell also benefit massively by scoring two extra points each and bringing the team’s total to 10.
Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen moves up to 10th place and gets the last point.
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Before his disqualification, Vettel, who was also reprimanded for wearing a t-shirt in support of LBGTQ + rights during the Hungarian national anthem, said he was “disappointed” in not being able to overtake Ocon and win the race.
“I’m a bit disappointed because I had the feeling that I was a bit faster for most of the race,” said Vettel. “But Esteban didn’t make a single mistake and I didn’t get really close enough.
“Of course it’s a great result for us, but when it’s so close you always look to win and not to second.”
Vettel last suffered a similar fate at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when he was excluded from qualifying for Red Bull because he had not provided a sufficiently large fuel sample.
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