Michael Schumacher would get worse than Sebastian Vettel in modern F1 - Mika Hakkinen

Canadian GP

Schumacher would get worse than Vettel in modern F1 - Hakkinen

The Flying Finn was disappointed.

Matthew Scott

Thursday 13 June 2019 18:15

Double world champion Mika Hakkinen lamented a Canadian Grand Prix ruined by the penalty awarded to Sebastian Vettel, suggesting many legendary contests between himself and Michael Schumacher might have never happened had Formula 1 been so stringently regulated in his career.

Although Vettel crossed the line first in Montreal, Lewis Hamilton inherited the win as the Ferrari man had swerved into his path while trying to rescue a slide through the grass verge.

Although the Finn conceded that Vettel's punishment was right by the letter of the law, he believes the regulations are dampening the on-track spectacle.

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Hakkinen wrote for Unibet: "The penalty given to Sebastian ruined the race, and left me wondering if the Stewards could not have examined it in more detail together with the drivers and teams afterwards before making a considered decision.

"At least the TV viewers and spectators would have enjoyed a battle until the end of the race rather than realising it was all over.

"The two cars did not touch, there was no collision. Sebastian and Lewis did what they had to do, gave each other just enough room, and then continued racing."

He added: "When I look back at my racing career in Formula 1, I think Michael Schumacher and I had more freedom to race. Maybe there were not so many cameras picking up everything that we did.

"There would have been a lot of five-second penalties, or worse, if we had been racing with today's rules.

"The FIA has done amazing work in order to make the sport so much safer, while the Stewards have a tough job to do, often under a lot of pressure. However, I do think that the drivers, teams, FIA and Formula 1 itself need to work out how to let drivers race, recognising that sometimes you need to be realistic and think about the sport's reputation.

"No one was happy on Sunday. The penalty ended the battle for the lead, and penalised everyone watching Formula 1."