Vettel penalty is 'harsh' - Gasly

Pierre Gasly has sympathy for Sebastian Vettel following the German incurring a penalty during a practice session for the United States Grand Prix, labeling the decision to penalise Vettel for speeding during a red flag period on the circuit as "harsh".

With Charles Leclerc going off-track to the gravel at the side, his reintroduction to the circuit left some of the gravel scattered on the surface which resulted in a red flag period.

Vettel appeared to noticeably slow down when approaching the portion of the track which was affected, but he was still deemed to be speeding by stewards and has subsequently received a three-place grid penalty which further damages his very slight hopes of beating Lewis Hamilton to the title.

Gasly believes the penalty was too severe for his colleague.

“It’s quite a harsh penalty," said the Toro Rosso driver.

"if you’ve been really careful when you pass in front of the crash and just after you don’t pay attention so much and you get a penalty like this.

#Seb5 penalised by 3 positions on the grid for ‘not slowing sufficiently during a red flag period’ in #FP1 #USGP — Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) 19 October 2018

“Before, if there’s a crash and a red flag you just slow down a lot in the place you had the crash and then after that you drive carefully, and it’s not like you need to respect a certain time.

“It always worked in the past. Now it’s quite strict, but at the same time rules are rules and you need to respect them. It’s a shame, especially looking at the situation, still fighting for the championship, and now he gets a penalty it’s not so exciting.”

Vettel is 67 points behind Hamilton in the drivers' championship and needs to finish higher than third if Hamilton wins on Sunday, or the title will go to the Brit.

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