Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel has called on Formula 1 chiefs to reduce the number of incidents and penalties at Grand Prix weekends, off the back of his sanction in Austria.
Vettel was alleged to have impeded Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. during the second knockout segment of qualifying, and the incident was passed to the stewards for further review.
Both Vettel and Sainz Jr. made it through to Q3 at the Red Bull Ring but the Ferrari driver was found guilty of impeding, and the consequent penalty relegated him from third to sixth on the grid.
That compromised his race day and while he recovered to a podium position, taking back the lead in the standings in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s exit, Vettel expressed frustration over the situation.
“I’m not a fan of these penalties,” said Vettel.
“I think I’ve said as well in the past that it’s our own drivers’ fault, because we sit there on Friday afternoon, complaining about the decisions and the consistency.
“From my point of view, motorsport is not black and white, so naturally not every decision can be the same.
“I don’t see the necessity to decide every time. That’s what the sport has developed into. Every incident needs to be looked at. Racing incidents for some reason are not allowed to happen any more.
“So we end up with a massive rulebook. I think we could have the header ‘we’re not allowed to race’, because that’s sometimes how it feels.
“In that situation in qualy, nobody was hurt. Carlos said it was no problem and he completely understood, he was very chilled, and I still ended up with a penalty.
“Obviously for me, it sucked on the day, it will probably suck for somebody else at a point in the season, but I just think that all these things are unnecessary.
“Sometimes, people, it’s not that you lose your mind or you do something crazy because you intend to, but you’re trying to push the limits, and you do a mistake. I think it’s happening everywhere else.
“I think there’s a trend everywhere else where things are being investigated, which I really don’t like.”
Vettel heads into the British Grand Prix weekend just one point clear of Hamilton in the standings and asserted confidence that Ferrari can keep pace in the battle, after trailing off 12 months ago.
“I think from 2017, we had a better car from the start, we had great results in the beginning of the year,” said Vettel.
“This year’s car has more potential. Here and there, we didn’t get everything out of the car. I have the feeling we can keep developing the car.
“The weakness at the end of last season was that the car wasn’t strong enough to fight Mercedes. That’s where we lost the points.
“I don’t know how it will be at the end of this year. I think if we have something to fight with, I’m quite confident we can have a good year. Time will tell. I’m not too worried.”
