#039 - Formula 1 Australia, Sebastian Vettel’s Penalty (29/03/2009)
#039 - Formula 1 Australia, Sebastian Vettel’s Penalty (29/03/2009)
From www.formula1.com:
“Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix following an incident in Sunday’s Australian race. Vettel collided with BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica during the latter stages in Melbourne as the Polish driver attempted to overtake him.
Following a post-race investigation, stewards decided to penalise the young German for 'causing a collision and forcing a driver off the track’. He had been racing in second, behind eventual race victor Jenson Button, with Kubica running a close third.
[...]
Both Vettel's and Kubica's cars sustained substantial front-end damage in the collision. But while the BMW Sauber driver spun off and hit a wall soon after, Vettel continued to drive his stricken RB5 with its left front wheel hanging off as the safety car emerged following the incident.
As a result the stewards have additionally fined him - and Red Bull Racing - US$50,000 for continuing to drive a damaged car.”
To fine a driver for simply defending his position is outrageous. Especially when you consider that all the changes in rules and regulations, and the physical appearance of the car were to make overtaking more spectacular and more likely to happen. Bernie Ecclestone, the man in control of Formula 1 (actually it’s his wife that owns the company, but she lets him have his fun with it), was even trying to push through a new scoring system. He wanted to hand out medals, and the one with the most gold medals at the end of the season would be World Champion. Interesting fact: if he had introduced this system last year not Hamilton, but Felipe Massa would have been World Champion, since he had won six races, and Hamilton only five.
Anyhow, the reason he wanted a change in scoring system was because drivers are now settling for third and second place, because they will still get some points and the difference between third and second isn’t that big points wise. Ecclestone, and all the other Formula One fans around the world, wanted drivers to really fight for their positions throughout the entire race.
Please FIA, tell me why you penalize the drivers then when they give everybody what they want? Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel were simply racing as it’s supposed to be. If penalty’s are continued to be handed out for incidents like these, drivers won’t risk overtaking anymore and simply give away their second position. Rather a third place than being places 10 positions back on the grid the next race, right?