F1 News
Punishment for drivers should have been heavier: ''They were just sleeping''
- GPblog.com
The Grand Prix of Tuscany started spectacularly with two huge crashes. The drivers all got off without a scratch, but according to Kees van de Grint and Allard Kalff they should have been punished a bit harder.
Crashes on Mugello
The first crash at the GP in Tuscany is still one that is understandable. A little too busy in the first corner and then things go wrong. However, the second crash behind the Safety Car is incomprehensible according to Van de Grint and Kalff. In the junior categories it goes without a fault, but that is not possible in Formula 1.
''In Formula 3, it really is still children who have to learn and they are faultless. Then the best racing drivers in the world come to the track and they turn it into chaos. The rule says that the driver in the lead sets the pace and there has just been one driver who thought 'I'm already starting'', says Kalff at RTL GP Slipstream.
F1 drivers set a bad example
''I think we agree that Valtteri Bottas is not to blame in any case. Now, twelve drivers have had a warning because they have not operated the accelerator and brake pedal properly, but they were just sleeping. They haven't looked at the pace of the rest of the field,'' says Van de Grint.
Bridgestone's former tyre expert doesn't understand that the drivers made such a big mistake and are still getting away with it. ''They've seen the green light and hit the accelarator, but that's not the purpose of the game. The penalty really could have been harsher, because they are the example and this just didn't look like anything'', concludes Van de Grint.