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Villeneuve is critical towards "amateur" stewards who "made a mess" at COTA
Jacques Villeneuve has branded the stewards at the United States Grand Prix weekend as "amateurs", and he believes they "made a mess" of the situation between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. He suggests the penalty for Norris was justified but also believes the Dutchman should've been handed a penalty as well.
Villeneuve explains why he feels Verstappen should also have been penalised. "The F1 stewards made a mess. At the start does Max deserve a penalty for pushing Lando completely off the track? Yes. Let’s look at the incident where Lando was punished. Did Lando floor it when he was on the outside of the track? Yes, he did. Was he ahead at the apex? It’s difficult to see from the angle but possibly. Why was he off the track? Because he had been pushed off the track. He did gain an advantage but Max did not make the corner. They were both off," he said in a conversation with CanadaCasino.ca.
Why both Verstappen and Norris should've been penalised
The 1997 world champion doesn't understand why the stewards did not penalise Verstappen. "The rules are clear. When a car drives someone else off the track they get a five second penalty. Both Norris and Max should have had a penalty. One incident does not excuse the other. That would have meant Norris third and Max fifth," Villeneuve continued, suggesting Norris should've been able to cut his World Championship deficit.
"The stewards were not balanced. If you are going to be strict about the rules then apply them to everyone. It makes a huge difference and it has a real impact on the championship. If both had been penalised, Norris would have got two more points and Max would have four less and another extra two points for McLaren from Piastri. They did not even acknowledge that Max pushed Norris off the track. They did not even look at it. They were real amateurs," he added.
The lack of consistency is the problem, according to the former F1 driver. "It was just incompetence by the stewards to not see what was going on. People want to see consistency. It should not be based on the results of the action by a driver. It should be based on the action itself. Because Norris got an advantage, they penalised him while ignoring who started it all. They were two separate incidents. Both should have had five second penalties. It is quite clear in the rules," Villeneuve concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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