Vettel: We are not allowed to race

Sebastian Vettel has continued his tirade against Formula 1 stewarding following his grid penalty at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver suggested that the sport's stringent rules are preventing drivers from engaging in exciting races after he was dropped three places on the Spielberg grid for impeding Carlos Sainz Jr in qualifying.

Sainz had to take evasive action to avoid a slow-moving Vettel on the racing line in Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, but the Renault man went on to reach the top-10 shootout regardless.

Still, Vettel was penalised, meaning his third place in qualifying became sixth on the grid. He recovered to finish third and regain the lead of the drivers' championship from Lewis Hamilton.

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Vettel says the stewards are not solely to blame, again stating his belief that regular complaints from rivers have made the rules tougher.

"I've said I'm not a fan of these penalties, I've said as well in the past it's our own fault as drivers because we sit there on Friday afternoon complaining about the decisions and consistency," Vettel said previewing the British Grand Prix.

"Motorsport is not black and white so not every decision can be the same, and I don't see the necessity to decide every time, but that's what the sport has become.

"Every incident needs to be looked at, and so-called 'racing incidents' are not allowed to happen anymore.

"So we end up with a massive rulebook which could have the header 'we are not allowed to race' because that's sometimes how it feels."

He added: "In that situation [in Austria] no-one was hurt, Carlos said it was no problem and he completely understood, so he was very chilled, and it still ended up with a penalty.

"For me, it sucked on the day, and it will probably suck for someone else at some point in the season, but I just think all these things are unnecessary.

"It's not that you lose your mind or do something crazy because you intend to, but because you try to push the limits and sometimes you might do a mistake.

"There's a trend everywhere else that things are being investigated, and I don't like that word."