Max Verstappen believes inconsistent and "stupid decisions" will "kill the sport" after he was handed a five-second penalty for cutting a corner whilst overtaking Kimi Raikkonen.
Verstappen had been chasing Raikkonen for several laps and on the final lap of the race he got past the Ferrari driver to claim the final podium spot. However he was handed the penalty after "gaining a lasting advantage" by cutting the corner, with all four wheels "half a metre" over the white line.
That decision demoted him from the podium to fourth and he was far from happy with the stewards, particuarly as drivers have been cutting corners all weekend long without penalty.
"Everyobody is running wide, including myself. Turn 9 you can run wide, Turn 19 you can go off the track and nobody will say anything," said the 20-year-old.
"It was the same with [Valtteri] Bottas, I went for a move and he continued outside of the track and I really had to pass him and nothing has been done against that and he definitely gained an advantage. If he made the track he would have been behind me.
"It's not good for the sport. They have to be clear on the rules and say it's not allowed anywhere.
"We had a great race, but with these stupid decisions you really kill the sport. I hope the fans didn't like this decision and next year they don't come back."
Verstappen's father, Jos, tweeted his anger at the decision.
"This is bulls**t. Sorry. This sucks," he wrote, adding: "Shame on you FIA. Obviously F1 don’t know what racing is.
"Only Max gets a penalty when he cross the line. Nobody else the whole weekend."
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