Canadian GP Insider View: Understanding for Vettel

Understanding For Vettel

The over-harsh punishment against Sebastian Vettel at the Canadian GP steered up emotions within the F1 community. Rightly so, as reporter Ralf Bach writes.

What would the four race commissioners of Montreal have done if they were responsible for the fight between David and Goliath in the Old Testament? They would certainly have disqualified the brave David because he had used a slingshot as an aid against the overpowering giant.

The people of the biblical land would have booed, and David wouldn’t have understood his punishment and thus the whole world. In Montreal, Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari was David and he had beaten both Goliath Mercedes on the track.

In the six races before the Canadian Grand Prix, none had achieved something like this. Since the Goliaths of Mercedes have always driven first across the finish line.

Sebastian Vettel still felt like a winner, so he went through his emotions realizing that his “victory, had been stolen from him.”

Emotions! Isn’t that what everyone wants to see? Athletes lowering their visor and showing their feelings for everyone to see. Heroes who dare to challenge the status quo.

All the stranger that German TV expert Christian Danner (RTL) showed no understanding for Vettel’s emotions.

I would rather agree with the opinion of former world champions. They all showed understanding for Vettel, but none for the FIA stewards.

For Nigel Mansell, the decision was just “ridiculous.” For Jenson Button, the penalty was “unnecessary”.

Jacques Villeneuve shook his head uncomprehendingly:
“Vettel had no choice, he had his hands full to keep the car on the road, Lewis saw that, but instead of driving on the left, he chose the wrong track.

What annoys both of us the most is remembering a very similar situation in Monaco 2016. An incident between Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo that could have been the blueprint for the incident in Canada but with two important differences.

Hamilton’s move was on purpose unlike Vettel’s in Canada and still, Hamilton didn’t get penalized for such a move …

Villeneuve brought it down to the point: Formula 1 loses its credibility when it takes away the victories achieved by Davids and ensures that the Goliaths always win even if they aren’t the first to cross the finish line.

My appeal to the makers of F1: Let the heroes fight their fights on the track and only intervene in emergencies! Like in the past, when this sport was still a sport for real race enthusiasts.

Or was Ayrton Senna penalized when he took revenge on Alain Prost in 1990 by running him down mercilessly? Did they intervene when René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve drove each other off the tracks in Dijon in 1979? That would have certainly been very unnecessary. At that time, real racing was still desired.