Anyone who thought Sebastian Vettel's Japanese Grand Prix couldn't get much worse would be wrong.

Having pulled out of today's race after just 4 laps as a result of a spark plug issue, thereby allowing title rival Lewis Hamilton to extend his championship lead to 59 points, the German was handed a reprimand.

As he watched his crew trying to resolve his spark plug problem on the grid, Vettel failed to attend the National Anthem ceremony at the required time, a breach of Article 19.4 ii) of the Sporting Regulations, and as a result was handed his first non-driving reprimand of the current season.

There are two types of reprimand, one for a driving offence, the other for a non-driving offence, with three reprimands in a season triggering an automatic 10-place grid penalty for the next race. However, the penalty is only imposed if at least two of the three reprimands are for a driving infringement.

While this was Vettel's first non-driving reprimand of the season, he received a driving reprimand in Monaco for crossing the yellow line at the pit lane exit during qualifying.

Check out our Sunday gallery from Suzuka, here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Trixi, 14/10/2017 19:40

"I think it's the media that makes a big deal of people like Vettel and Hamilton that keep we the people at each other's throats. Seems to be working. My word..."

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2. Posted by Toffeecup0, 09/10/2017 16:37

"Naughty boy missing out on national anthem thought he could get away with it that's typical of vettel reminds me of the Schumacher days"

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3. Posted by ALFA 2, 09/10/2017 7:37

"Formula one is no longer a drivers championship, it is just a manufacturers show piece. It is time the drivers were allowed to start and race, forget all the useless penalties and grid position changes, lets get with the racing! Please !"

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4. Posted by bfairey, 09/10/2017 3:12

"What a lot of bullshit,this series is getting to be a laughing stock. Fine him E500."

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A reprimand for Vettel

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