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Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari was penalized three places at the US Grand Prix.
The decision not to slow down enough for a red flag during testing increases Lewis Hamilton's chances of winning his fifth world title in Sunday's race.
Hamilton will be champion when he scores eight points more than Vettel.
Hamilton has won five of the last six races and dominated both Friday sessions.
The Vettel attack took place after the first session was stopped as Sauber's Charles Leclerc, who will be his teammate at Vettel at Ferrari next year, had sown gravel on the track at Turn Nine when of his return after a rotation in humid conditions.
The Stewards decided that Vettel was going faster than the minimum allowed time in this area of the track.
The decision means that Vettel will not be able to start the race higher than the fourth, even if he takes pole position Saturday, while Friday's wet conditions should continue.
Mercedes has been faster than Ferrari in the wet so far this season. If Vettel qualifies third, he will start the sixth race and his chances of finishing second will be low.
This is the latest in a series of mistakes made by the pilot or his team that have seriously affected their chances of winning the championship this season.
Title in the bag then, surely
In contrast, Hamilton had a perfect day despite adverse conditions.
Hamilton beat Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso with 1.012 seconds in the second session after beating teammate Mercedes Valtteri Bottas by 1.3 seconds in the first.
Vettel was only 11th in the second session, 5.6 seconds late. He was fifth and nearly two seconds behind Hamilton in the first.
Ferrari has brought an aerodynamic upgrade this weekend in hopes of reducing the gap with Mercedes, which has opened considerably in the last three races.
But the conditions made the two sessions unrepresentative and Vettel used much older intermediate tires than Hamilton in the second session.
Gasly's time was set on new tires, which would have much more grip.
In the second session, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was the third fastest on worn tires, ahead of Fernando Alonso (McLaren) fourth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg (Renault). Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso, using new tires as his teammate.
Four drivers did not run at all during the session – Bottas, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and the two Haas cars.
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