Consistent inconsistency
The problem of having different stewards at races needs to be addressed since, in my view, there is no balance in the process, as has been proved by recent races.
In France, Sebastian Vettel nerfs Valtteri Bottas out of contention, is judged to have caused an avoidable collision, and gets a five-second penalty.
Then in Hungary Bottas understeers into Ricciardo while defending his position on worn tyres and with a damaged front wing. Ricciardo picks up damage but passes Bottas, who is judged to have caused an avoidable collision and gets a 10-second penalty and two points on his licence!
You could argue that Vettel’s misdemeanour in France was
far more serious because it cost Ferrari’s main rivals points, plus he wasn’t defending his position in that he simply misjudged his braking point and used Bottas to slow himself down.
It’s crazy. There is absolutely no consistency. You could also argue that Vettel’s ‘robust’ defence after overtaking Bottas earlier on in Hungary, and the inevitable contact, was more Vettel’s fault than Bottas’s. Vettel didn’t give Bottas racing room to allow him to counter and the damage made him vulnerable to Kimi Räikkönen and ultimately Ricciardo.
I’m not saying Vettel did it deliberately but as Mark Webber recently said: “I think sometimes Seb forgets that where the back of his helmet is, is not where the back
of his car is. There’s a bit more he’s got to get through.”
The whole stewarding situation is something that the FIA have to fix because the present system simply does not work. The only way to have a fair and impartial stewarding system is to have a panel of the same stewards who go to every race, with no driver rep either, plus the stewards should not have any previous involvement with any of the F1 teams.
Graham Dalley By email