Former World champion Sebastian Vettel slammed with ₦ 2.2 million fine following hilarious antics

Former champion Sebastien Vettel returned to track for the first time since pre-season testing in Bahrain. The German racer had missed the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races after testing positive for COVID-19.

A serious engineering issue forced the AMR21 to almost go up in flames during the last 30 minutes of his first practice session. He escaped the vehicle unharmed but had to extinguish the smoke coming from the engine.

With the choice of the Medical car or taking a relaxing walk to the garage, Vettel chose to mount a scooter. The former world champion took a victory lap around the track at the end of the session, which amused those in attendance.

Fans may have enjoyed this amusing display by the German, but the FIA has taken action to show that they are not impressed. The institution called out Vettel for not wearing his helmet properly when going on his joy ride.

After quick deliberation, a panel determined that Vettel breached F1 regulations, refusing to evacuate the track within five minutes of the end of his session. The FIA also called out Vettel for not taking the designated route back to the garage and slammed him with a €5,000 fine.

With a reported annual salary of $15,000,000, Vettel would do well to ignore the fine and focus on the qualifying sessions for the main race on Sunday.

The third race of the F1 season will take place in Melbourne Australia, on Sunday.