Haas team boss Guenther Steiner fumed at the penalty given to Romain Grosjean after Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying.
The Frenchman was given a three-place grid drop and a penalty point on his superlicence for blocking Lando Norris at the final corner in Q1.
In their conclusion, race officials said that while Grosjean hadn’t been warned about the approaching McLaren, it should have been his prerogative to watch those around him.
However: “He did not do anything wrong,” Steiner argued to Motorsport.com. “There was no radio call. Why should he get a point? That is just like having it out at somebody.
“It is completely inappropriate. It is completely the wrong decision.
“The three grid positions we can discuss, but to give him a [penalty] points…guys? Where are we living?”
Further complicating the situation was the criticism both Grosjean and Norris threw at Sebastian Vettel for his role in the incident.
As the Ferrari driver would jump the queue at the final corner, breaking what Romain said was an unwritten rule, and forcing him to have to almost stop on the racing line.
Steiner was also left unhappy as the ruling came mere hours after drivers had met with Garry Connelly, the chairman of the stewards, to discuss a “let them race” approach to decisions.
“You try to chat with them [the stewards], but if you don’t get it you don’t get it. If you don’t want to get it you won’t get it. I don’t know,” he complained.
“They had a meeting with the drivers yesterday where they had a good talk with them, but I don’t know what they talked about because it looks like they wasted a lot of daylight.
“They talk and they talk and then they do what they feel like without considering any factors.”
