F1 Montreal GP: June 7-9, 2019
in Formula 1 ·
Jolyon Palmer's latest column—argues why Sebastian Vettel actually earned that penalty.
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Strictly speaking—by the rules—Sebastian Vettel was guilty.
It seems he either squeezed someone else out—Hamilton into the wall on the exit of Turn Four—to the extent that the Mercedes driver had to slam on the brakes just to stay out of trouble.
Alternatively, according to his defense—that his momentum simply carried him across the entire track—he’s still essentially at fault for rejoining in an unsafe manner. It seems he wasn't quite in full control of the car, which ultimately resulted in Lewis Hamilton being forced off the road.
One of these scenarios has to be right—I guess.
If he had no choice but to drive straight into Lewis Hamilton, then we're looking at a safety issue—which is just as bad. But if he actually chose to do it, then it's blatant and definitely warrants a penalty, I guess.
It’s a bit of a catch-22—you essentially need to have it both ways just to sidestep the penalty.
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During the race in the USA, Max Verstappen locked up under pressure—then cut the corner—and when rejoining, he forced Kimi Raikkonen off the track to keep his position, I guess.
Red Bull Racing took a five-second penalty there—hardly anyone raised an eyebrow after the fact. The consensus seemed to be that Max Verstappen was just being too aggressive and earned the call. Honestly, I suspect the Ferrari camp would have been nodding in agreement at the time.
Actually, Sebastian Vettel made it quite clear—he argued that a driver in Kimi Raikkonen's position shouldn't constantly be forced to be the one taking evasive action.
It feels a bit desperate seeing Ferrari appeal that Vettel penalty—especially since the circumstances are almost identical. If anything, I believe the Verstappen case was more acceptable than the Vettel one. In that instance, he's clearly attempting to steer the car away from Kimi Raikkonen, which might clear up some of the ambiguity we saw with the Vettel case.
Kimi Raikkonen actually had a decent chance to pick either lane to dodge Max Verstappen—whereas Lewis Hamilton really only had the outside option, getting halfway alongside Vettel before being shoved right into the wall.
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Had Sebastian Vettel managed to stay composed on lap 48, we’d probably be celebrating his incredible performance this weekend—rather than dissecting this messy result. But he lost it, broke the rules, and ultimately had to pay the price.
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It’s worth remembering—though I guess it goes without saying—that the stewards have access to far more data than anyone else, specifically regarding speeds, various camera angles, and those throttle or brake traces. It isn't a guarantee they'll always make the right call, but in this instance, I suspect that data might actually be quite significant.
The interpretation seemed to be that Sebastian Vettel wasn't obligated to stay on the right—that there was actually another option available—which, I guess, was the deciding factor in them handing out the penalty.
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Lewis Hamilton was the quicker driver during the Grand Prix—though he seemed to struggle for that final edge whenever he got within half a second due to the dirty air—much like how Max Verstappen dealt with Hamilton in Monaco the previous race.
While Lewis Hamilton kept his cool in Monaco without a single slip-up—Sebastian Vettel, on the other hand, really dropped the ball. After forty-seven laps of intense pressure, Hamilton finally found his opening; claiming that being forced off the track or needing to back off is a valid defense for Vettel just doesn't seem right, I guess.
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Sebastian Vettel’s real stroke of genius was how he played the diversions once the race was over—all that theatrical smoke and mirrors with the meltdown, followed by the sheer audacity of swapping those final position markers with Lewis Hamilton in parc fermé.
He really won over the crowd—most of whom were there rooting for Ferrari in Canada—who, frankly, were all pretty gutted that a penalty ended up deciding the whole race. Everyone was.
I suppose Vettel's own choices made sure all the noise focused on the penalty itself—rather than the actual mistake that caused it.
It seems to follow a pattern—that German driver just can't quite hold it together when things get intense. Lewis Hamilton wasn't really going to make a move on Sebastian Vettel in Turn Three anyway; it’s hardly a spot for passing—but Vettel essentially lost control of his car while leading, which just handed the advantage over on a silver platter.
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The last time the leader essentially handed the win over to someone else, we were looking at Sebastian Vettel. Interestingly—if you check the stats—that was also the last time he sat on pole position; it's been about 17 races since that happened back in Germany.
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To be fair, Vettel lost the race in Canada back in 2011 too—though the context was different—but the result was much the same, losing it on the final lap while dealing with some pressure from Button. At that time, though, the Red Bull Racing car was so dominant that he wasn't really under constant threat.
Now that he’s with Ferrari, this tendency seems to be surfacing quite often, which might just be the defining narrative of today's race. It feels less like the penalty itself was the issue, and more like another unforced error from Sebastian Vettel while leading.
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He took a five-second penalty. Sure, that effectively decided the outcome and robbed us of what could have been a thriller, but honestly, that was probably the lightest penalty the stewards could have given for what Sebastian Vettel clearly did.
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The massive backlash and the drama following the race have been, frankly, a bit ridiculous.
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