Late FIA penalty criticized by Vettel

The German driver received repairs on his single-seater until the start of the race. Forced to start from the pit lane, it was only on the 22nd lap of the race that the FIA informed Vettel that he was being penalized with a ten-second stop-and-go penalty because his tires were not mounted five minutes before the start. A penalty justified from a regulatory point of view but which sparked irritation within the Aston Martin team, due to the late timing of the announcement.

The German driver spoke about this during the post-race conference: “Of course, the guys tried everything on the grid and I think they did really well. So they were really vigilant. But I think we could have had a better race if the FIA were more alert. We broke a rule, that’s why we received a penalty.”

« We broke a rule, which is why we received a penalty »

The late announcement of this penalty for Vettel therefore did not have the same consequences as if the team had been informed before the start of the race. Especially since the German driver had stopped one lap earlier to be the first to try the gamble of medium tires. Nevertheless, the German’s Grand Prix already seemed to be in trouble, as he was then in sixteenth position.

« They didn’t bother to give the penalty before the beginning of the race. So at that moment, it cost me much more than it would have earlier in the race. It’s not very professional. But it certainly wasn’t a decisive factor for us. The race was tough, we had a lot of problems, declared the Aston Martin driver.

« The race was tough, we had a lot of issues »

Michael Masi, race director of the FIA, defended the position of the stewards by explaining the process they follow to make their decisions: « I don’t know if it took longer than it should have. This was obviously reported by the technical delegate. »

« I should take a look at the report, but once the technical delegate has flagged it, the paper report he presents appears in the document management system. At that point, the commissioners have reviewed the regulations, confirmed the evidence, and determined what the penalty would be. »

Although the delay between the offense committed by Aston Martin and the announcement of the FIA’s sanction following it is debatable, it is not the key element of Vettel’s troubles at the start of this season. After a very insufficient first race in Bahrain, the German knew he was under the spotlight for this second race of the season. However, he delivered a very poor performance this weekend, even dropping out in the final lap of the race. It is becoming urgent for the four-time world champion to regain composure, and this will need to start at the Portuguese Grand Prix, during the weekend of April 30 to May 2, 2021.