Championship leader Lewis Hamilton believes the penalty Sebastian Vettel received for colliding into his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at Turn 1 at the French Grand Prix doesn't 'weigh up'.
As the leaders came barreling into the first corner, second-placed Vettel locked up and plowed into the side of the Finn causing him to spin his Mercedes across the track, putting them both to the back of the field with the resultant damage.
Bottas' W09 sustained considerable floor damage but was able to continue in the race while Vettel had to stop for a new front-wing which he did under the safety car, eventually going on to carve his way through the field to finish fifth.
Hamilton feels the opportunity was lost to secure a one-two finish for the team and it was unfair on Bottas who he believes has driven well all season long. As a result of the incident, Bottas could only finish in seventh, meaning the Finn now sits 53 points behind Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship.
When asked for his thoughts on the five-second penalty Vettel received for his transgression, Hamilton said: "I’ve not seen it in detail but they quickly played something back there [in the pre-podium room]. I saw an image of it on-screen.
"For me, it’s disappointing because for the team we had the chance to get a one-two, and I think that would have been a… it’s always an incredible feeling to get a one-two, that’s the ultimate goal within the team. Valtteri had really done a solid job all weekend, as he has really been doing this year.
"I mean, we’re all going into Turn 1 as hard as we could – but yeah, ultimately when someone destroys your race through an error and it’s only kind-of a tap on the hand really, and just allowed to come back and still finish ahead of that person that they took out, it doesn’t weigh up, y’know?
"Ultimately, he shouldn’t really be able to finish ahead of him, because he took him out of the race. But, yeah… that’s the call they made."
Hamilton leads Vettel in the Drivers' Championship by 14 points going into the second race of the triple-header in Spielberg, Austria.
