Drivers Rally in Support of Sebastian Vettel After a Penalty Robs a Win

During the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, a struggling Sebastian Vettel ran wide and nearly put Lewis Hamilton in the wall. As a result, the FIA put their foot down and slapped him with a five second time penalty. Naturally, the driver was furious at getting robbed, of a surefire win, as Hamilton was too close to Vettel to remain first.

The German driver bemoaned the opportunity to be the one to break the Mercedes winning streak. Physically, he did break the streak when he crossed the finish line first, though from a technical standpoint, the Silver Arrows kept their streak.

When the penalty took effect, not just Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari, but several other racers, current and former, were against it. Former teammate, Daniel Ricciardo said, “If he pulls a little further to the left, he’ll spin. When he brakes on the grass, he’ll spin too. There was not much room for Lewis but still enough.I had an identical situation with Lewis in 2016 Monte Carlo. He had to go through the emergency exit and almost pushed me into the wall on his return. With me it was tighter than now with him. He didn’t get a penalty. That was a good thing. It was a hard racing.”

In all honesty, Sebastian Vettel was pretty much out of control when he slithered into the grass. So, when he rejoined, the lack of grip would definitely make itself known, Lewis Hamilton was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Others commented on Twitter about the decision: