Vettel loses Mexican GP podium after penalty
Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo inherited a Mexican Grand Prix podium finish after Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was penalised for his late-race defensive maneuvre.
Having been held up by Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen after the Dutchman straightlined Turn 1 and remained ahead, Vettel blocked the fast-approaching Aussie aggressively at Turn 4 on the penultimate lap of the race.
The pair nearly made contact arriving at the corner but Vettel would hold on to what was then fourth position, leading Ricciardo by 3.5s at the chequered flag and then inheriting third place when Verstappen was assessed a swift post-race penalty.
However, his podium remained provisional as the stewards investigated his defensive driving, with both Red Bull's Helmut Marko and Ricciardo himself saying Vettel had violated the very rule against moving under braking that had been recently implemented in response to Verstappen's tactics.
Following a meeting with the parties involved, the stewards gave Vettel a 10-second penalty and dropped him to fifth place for changing direction under braking.
The penalty means Ricciardo moves up to third and Verstappen to fourth, the Australian securing third in the championship.
Vettel was also awarded two penalty points.
