After Sebastian Vettel lost his podium place at Mexico, Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has blamed ‘bureaucracy’.
It’s a strange claim to make, if Arrivabene believes that the result of a Grand Prix should be decided on the track between the drivers then Vettel had lost out to Max Verstappen.
Vettel had only gained third in Mexico due to the race stewards decision to hand Verstappen a five-second time penalty after cutting the corner at turn one.
This elevated Vettel to third and he celebrated on the podium.
However the celebrations were short lived when Vettel was handed a ten-second time penalty, dropping him behind Daniel Ricciardo and behind Verstappen.
Vettel was also handed two penalty points.
The penalty was for robustly defending against Ricciardo, which forced the Australian to lock up to avoid a heavy impact and for the two drivers to touch going around the subsequent corner.
Vettel was immediately placed under investigation for making a manoeuvre under braking.
Something which is now outlawed under the new ‘Verstappen rule’.
The new clarification states: ‘Any change of direction under braking which results in another driver having to take evasive action will be considered abnormal and hence potentially dangerous to other drivers. Any such move will be reported to the stewards.’
Ironically Vettel was one of the most vociferous about this previously unwritten rule regarding the young Dutchman. However it was Vettel who became the first victim of it, although to Arrivabene the penalty was unjust.
?We deserved 100 percent the podium, The whole team showed great character, and the drivers did a great job. Arrivabene told motorsport.com.
?Unfortunately, the result has been taken away by bureaucracy, and by a decision which I consider excessive and unfair in some ways.?
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