Sebastian Vettel's Canada robbery the absolute worst of F1

Canadian GP

Vettel's Canada robbery the absolute worst of F1

How much more self-inflicted damage can F1 take?

Matthew Scott

Tuesday 11 June 2019 13:00 Updated: 15:21

Formula 1 has fired both barrels into its own feet enough times and perhaps now the sight is set on the sport's head, with Sebastian Vettel's ludicrous Canadian Grand Prix penalty killing any notion that racing is allowed in F1.

It's one thing for those sat in armchairs and at desks to blow up at Vettel taking a five-second penalty for re-joining the track in front of Lewis Hamilton, giving the latter a win that was solely deserved by the Ferrari man.

But how about Jenson Button?

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"It was really sad. It's a racing incident. Yes, Seb made a mistake, but you've got to realise he's doing over 100 mph here he can't just stop the car and stay off the circuit. It doesn’t deserve a penalty."

Fancy another world champion? Mario Andretti…

I think the function of the stewards is to penalize flagrantly unsafe moves not honest mistakes as result of hard racing. What happened at #CanadaGp is not acceptable at this level of our great sport. @F1
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) June 9, 2019

A third to convince you? Here's Nigel Mansell…

Very very https://t.co/CJcFu85l7f joy in watching this race ,two champions driving brilliantly,will end in a false result.
— Nigel Mansell CBE (@nigelmansell) June 9, 2019

Sport always polarises opinion, but that isn't the case here. F1 is united, save for the trio in the stewards' office – who knows, maybe there was a disagreement there too.

F1 just cannot afford to have its spectacle ruined in this way, by a rule that states Vettel should have left a car's width despite having little control and a wall occupying where that space might have been.

Race. Defining. Moment. 📽️#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #F1 pic.twitter.com/053sau3we1
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2019

Not only was the decision bogus, but it robbed F1 of having its two premier performers going wheel-to-wheel for the first time in anger this year.

This is no advocation for penalties being awarded on the basis of what is good for the 'show' – simply that the show be allowed to run as it should.

Processional races have killed F1's excitement this season, with Mercedes' dominance hammering a few extra nails into the coffin for good measure.

If the sport's governors really want to avoid both then rewriting pathetic rules like the one which ruined this race should jump to the top of their priorities. Yes, Hamilton had to brake slightly and change his course.

But this is not a driving test. This is the pinnacle of motor racing. Drivers should be on the end of their wits, not simply cruising around.

Though Hamilton was the one to benefit, and the one impacted by Vettel, it's not hard to imagine that in the days to come, he may well look back and think it ought to have gone the other way.

The five-time world champion raised eyebrows prior to the weekend when lambasting other elements of modern F1.

"You should be physically exhausted after a race," he said. "To the point it should be so exhausting like a marathon. Sometimes you do these races and you can get up - I could do two or three races in a row and Formula 1 shouldn't be like that.

"It's a man's sport and a lot of youngsters come in and it's quite easy for them to get straight into it."

So no racing, no challenge for those at the top and no sight of it changing any time soon.

We can only hope that action is taken soon, but F1 fans across the spectrum ought to be as miserable as the Tifosi are right now.