FIA inquiry into Vettel and Hamilton's F1 clash

Sebastian Vettel could face further punishment for his deliberate collision with Lewis Hamilton during Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The sport's governing body, the FIA, will meet on 3 July to "further examine the causes of the incident to evaluate whether further action is necessary".

The results of their inquiry will be announced before the Austrian Grand Prix, from 7-9 July, and according to BBC Sport the meeting will concentrate solely on the actions of the German driver. "Hamilton's driving in the incident is not in question and the hearing will focus on Vettel's behaviour," it said.

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The four-time champion Vettel received a ten-second stop-go penalty during the dramatic race after he touched wheels with Hamilton during a second safety car period.

Vettel believed that the British driver had purposely brake-tested him during one of three safety car periods in Baku so allegedly took his revenge, but telemetry data from Hamilton’s Mercedes that was analysed by stewards proved that he had not driven improperly.

That was also the consensus among the great and the good of Formula One, with former driver David Coulthard saying during his Channel 4 commentary: "Hamilton hasn't accelerated then decelerated, he has kept a constant pace. Sebastian has misjudged it and then in his anger made contact with Hamilton."

The 29-year-old Vettel was subsequently accused of bringing the sport into disrepute and the FIA have acted swiftly in the wake of the growing controversy.

"Following the recent incident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in which Sebastian Vettel was involved in a collision with Lewis Hamilton, on Monday 3 July, the FIA will further examine the causes of the incident in order to evaluate whether further action is necessary," said an FIA spokesperson.

According to The Guardian, "Vettel could be fined, penalised with a grid drop, or even hit with a race ban should the FIA decide to discipline the German". It won't help his cause that he had a run-in with the FIA as recently as October when he received a warning after telling race director Charlie Whiting to "f*** off" during a series of angry radio transmissions at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Hamilton believes that furore is an indication that his German rival is feeling the strain despite leading the Englishman by 14 points in the championship.

"You look at last year and some of the things he’s come and said on the radio, we know how he can be," said Hamilton. "He’s under pressure and that’s not a bad thing. That shows that often pressure can get to even some of the best of us."