Vettel not dwelling on F1 penalty points despite nearing ban

Sebastian Vettel is not dwelling on his Formula 1 penalty points situation despite being just three away from a one-race ban after his latest misdemeanour at Monza.

Vettel received three penalty points on his FIA Super Licence after unsafely rejoining the track and causing a collision during Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, with the stewards labelling the move "dangerous".

Vettel now has nine penalty points on his Super Licence. Any driver accruing 12 penalty points in a 12-month period receives an automatic one-race ban, with no points set to drop off Vettel's record until the Mexican Grand Prix at the end of October.

Vettel explained his thought-process when rejoining the circuit, admitting he underestimated how long it would take him to get back on-track.

"Obviously I didn't see anything," Vettel said.

"When I spun, I was looking the other way, I thought there was quite a bit of a gap. But then obviously you don't start counting, so I knew there would be cars coming.

"But originally I thought it would be much quicker rejoining."

Asked by Crash.net if he was mindful of his penalty points situation, Vettel said: "I don’t know. I'm not aware really."

The sanction handed to Vettel was the most severe option available to the race stewards at Monza short of showing him a black flag, which FIA race director Michael Masi revealed after the race was not a consideration.

No driver has received a ban under the new penalty points system since its introduction in 2014.