Max Verstappen believes inconsistent stewards’ decision are “fine” because “it’s the same in football”.
The Dutchman has often criticised the race officials for penalising his aggressive driving style but toned down his comments after the FIA ordered him to join the stewards at a Formula E race and attend a conference as part of community service given to him after pushing Esteban Ocon in Brazil back in 2018.
Last year also saw the stewards try to implement a more lenient approach to racing incidents but still made headlines for deciding the outcome of two races, as a controversial five-second penalty for Sebastian Vettel gave Lewis Hamilton the win in Canada and Verstappen himself avoided sanction for a bold pass on Charles Leclerc to take victory in Austria.
“It’s the same in football, isn’t it? You have different refs and some give a yellow card easier than others. It’s the same like that,” the Red Bull driver said of the alleged inconsistency in decisions.
“Of course, you know there’s a rulebook but then still the stewards have a little bit of a say of what you’re actually going to apply.
“When you go into like a Champions League match or a Premier League match, the ref can be different. It’s exactly the same, I think, in Formula 1.
“That’s also fine. When you’re on the wrong side of the penalty it’s always bad, unless you really did something bad and you can accept it.
“But when it’s 50/50 and you get the penalty, you’re always going to question it.”
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Some have argued for some time that all the race officials should be the same at every race to avoid the situation that Verstappen describes, rather than just the senior stewards like the race director.
At the same time, the 22-year-old now understands the pressure that is placed upon them.
“It’s very hard for them [stewards]. I mean, I’ve been in the [stewards’] room and experienced them handing penalties out,” he said.
“It’s not easy for them. They also don’t want to give penalties. Sometimes they just have to, the way the rules are written as well. We can maybe look into easing some of the penalties, or just write them in a different way into the rulebook.”
