Sebastian Vettel lost victory in the Canadian Grand Prix to Lewis Hamilton after being penalised for dangerous driving against his rival.
The Ferrari driver made a mistake under pressure from the world champion, running wide at Turn Three, and pushed Hamilton wide as he rejoined the track.
Race stewards decided Vettel had rejoined the track unsafely and penalised him five seconds for forcing Hamilton off the track.
The Mercedes driver would likely have passed Vettel had he not been blocked with 22 laps still remaining.
The move will doubtless lead to a major controversy but Hamilton was clear that he felt Vettel had been unfair.
He said over the radio immediately after the incident: “He’s just come back on the track so dangerously.”
Vettel complained vigorously, saying: “Where the hell else was I supposed to go? I had grass on my wheels.”
Told to stay focused, he said: “I am focused but they are stealing the race from us.”
Vettel complained that Hamilton could have gone to the inside but that was inaccurate reading of the situation as it unfolded.
Nevertheless, doubtless many will feel that Vettel should have been excused and the drivers allowed to race.
However, others will see it as yet another error under pressure from Vettel, whose 2018 season unravelled as a result of a series of them and who made another in Bahrain earlier this year, spinning after being passed by Hamilton.
And the stewards may well have used precedent to inform the decision, such as when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was penalised in the same fashion for forcing then-Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen off the track in last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
