F1: Vettel escapes collision penalty

Sebastian Vettel escaped a penalty for his Austrian Grand Prix collision with Esteban Gutierrez only because of a new more lenient approach from Formula 1's race stewards.

As revealed earlier in the weekend, the FIA has agreed to not be as strict when it comes to handing down driver penalties for collisions. The move came following complaints from teams in last week's F1 Commission meeting that drivers were reluctant to be aggressive in overtaking moves for fear of being punished.

Vettel damaged his front wing in a collision with Gutierrez as he tried to battle his way up the field following an earlier engine problem. The matter was investigated by the race stewards, but they decided that in the wake of the F1 Commission request – where only accidents where clear blame can be laid on one driver should penalties be handed out – that no action should be taken.

A note issued after the stewards hearing said: "In light of the new guidelines from the Formula 1 Commission, there is no further action warranted."