Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll fume over 'JOKE' penalties in Qatar Grand Prix

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F1 stars band together in condemning 'JOKE' rules imposed at Qatar Grand Prix

Perez and Stroll were among numerous drivers penalised during the Qatar race weekend

Cal Gaunt

Wednesday 11 October 2023 09:57

Discontent is brewing among F1 drivers regarding track limits and penalties.

During the Qatar Grand Prix, a total of 51 infractions were recorded, though that is still below the season record of 86 in Austria.

Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon all received more than one 5-second penalty on Sunday.

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This has led to criticism of the severity of the sanctions, particularly from Aston Martin's Stroll.

Lance Stroll believes the Formula 1 lawmakers 'don't understand' the sport

Williams driver Alex Albon was among the drivers slapped with a five-second penalty in Qatar

Stroll: We do not gain an advantage

“It's a joke that they give penalties for this,” he said. "They don't understand what Formula 1 is these days.

"What they're doing to us, giving us track limit penalties and making the track narrower, then telling us we can't go over the curbs because the tyres fail if we do... I think that the runway limit issue is something that needs to be addressed.

Lance Stroll says drivers do not gain an advantage by exceeding track limits by 'millimetres'

“We saw in Austria and this weekend people getting penalised. It's not like we gain an advantage when you go off the track for three millimetres.

"I felt like we had a good race finishing ninth on track, only to end up finishing 11th with two penalties. It's really a frustrating result to get nothing.”

Perez: It's a joke

Sergio Perez branded the weekend's penalties in Qatar 'a joke'

Red Bull's Perez, who started Sunday's race from the pitlane after a penalty was imposed on him after crashing out in the Sprint, echoed Stroll's views.

“I gained so much margin, I lost so much lap time, but I still had more [penalties]," he said.

"For me, it was very difficult to judge. There were drivers who were capable of doing it, so I don't think I did a good enough job in that regard.

"But I also think it was a joke what we ended up doing with the track limits."