Vasseur, Wolff given formal warnings over Vegas outbursts

ABU DHABI :Formula One stewards gave Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur and Mercedes principal Toto Wolff formal warnings on Thursday about their conduct at a Las Vegas Grand Prix press conference last week.

Stewards said in a statement at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the governing FIA's media delegate had reported the pair for "the use of certain language" in the Nov. 16 conference.

The hearing found both bosses broke an article of the FIA's International Sporting Code covering "moral injury" to the governing body or motorsport in general through words, deeds or writings.

Vasseur used a profanity in an angry response to a question after Carlos Sainz's Ferrari was wrecked by a loose drain cover during the aborted first practice session.

Wolff also swore at a suggestion the cancelled practice was a "black eye" for F1.

The stewards said Vasseur's language was unacceptable and would not be tolerated in future but noted that the Frenchman was "extremely upset and frustrated by the incident" and was not speaking normally.

They accepted also that Wolff's language was not typical and provoked "by an abrupt interjection" during the press conference.

Mercedes and Ferrari are fighting for second place in a championship dominated by Red Bull, with just four points separating the two teams.

(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)