Vettel: I sympathise with F1 stewards but blame regulations

Sebastian Vettel says he can sympathise with Formula 1’s stewards but believes the sport has become too over-regulated in the wake of his controversial Canadian Grand Prix penalty.

The Ferrari driver crossed the line in first place but was demoted to second behind Lewis Hamilton after receiving a time penalty for being deemed to have rejoined the circuit in an unsafe manner.

Vettel initially vented his frustrations at the decision over team radio, before swapping the number boards around in parc ferme. He later expressed his displeasure at the penalty during the post-race press conference, adding the current sporting rules have left him feeling disillusioned with F1.

“I just feel that nowadays we look at so many things that maybe we didn’t look at in the past because nobody was really making a fuss,” Vettel said following the race.

“Now, obviously it’s worth making a fuss for everything because you have these decisions. I sympathise in a way with the stewards.

“I’ve said many times when I’ve been in there that they are sitting in front of a piece of paper and they’re watching the race and they also came back to me and say we agree but look, we have to do these kind of things.

“So I think the way we are doing these things now is just wrong but it’s our times, we have regulations for everything.

“It’s clear there’s a hole when walking down a pedestrian walk and there is a hole in the street because they’re doing construction work and there needs to be a be guy who guides to the other side of the road,” Vettel continued.

“Otherwise it’s the construction company’s fault that you fell into the hole and broke a leg, but I think you’re just an idiot if you walk into that hole and break your leg. But that’s a little bit how my theory is nowadays - the approaches are drifting apart.”

Ferrari initially opted to withdraw its appeal after the 96-hour deadline had passed, but on Monday it confirmed it had lodged a ‘right to review’ the penalty.

Under Article 14.1.1 of the International Sporting Code, Ferrari must now provide the FIA with new evidence for the matter to be reconsidered.