Paul di Resta has slammed the the Canadian Grand Prix stewards for his drive-through penalty, which he called ‘ridiculous’.
The Force India driver made contact with Renault’s Nick Heidfeld at the final chicane after lining the German up for a pass. Footage shows the Scotsman was alongside the R31, but ran into the side as Heidfeld turned into the corner.
Di Resta says the collision was in no way his fault as Heidfeld would never had made the chicane, even if the 25-year-old hadn’t of been there.
“It’s not even harsh, it’s ridiculous,” the BBC quote him as saying. “I’d had a chance of passing Heidfeld the lap before the incident but thought I’d bide my time.
“I got another run on him, got alongside him, but where he was trying to brake and what he was trying to do, he was never going to make the chicane and he took my front wing off.
“So I had to stop for a wing change and I got a drive-through penalty, which again I thought was harsh.
“I don’t see how I was at fault for that. He came in front of me, yet I still made the corner and he didn’t and all that happened was the front-wing end plate came off, so I didn’t batter him.”
Di Resta has urged the team to investigate the matter with a possible complaint to the FIA for an unfair penalty, which the stewards, including Emerson Fittipaldi, claimed was an avoidable collision.
“This time, I feel it was definitely not deserving of a drive-through, which was precious in terms of time,” he continued. “It definitely needs investigating.”
