Sebastian Vettel doesn’t support the plan to give drivers penalty points for incidents which could lead to them receiving a race ban.
“I don’t like it,” he said when asked about the proposal after qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I don’t know, maybe I’m a little bit too old fashioned, I don’t want to make this too long but I think we had a lot of penalties in the past,” he explained.
“I think from a drivers’ point of view we’ve been pushing for penalties and right now we are probably in a situation where we have more penalties than we would like so it’s a little bit of a vicious circle.
“I think the catalogue is not released entirely. I’ve seen some sketch of it but I think you have the potential of scoring points for some things that are not entirely in our hands and small things and at the end of the day the consequence could be very big. I don’t know if that’s the idea.
“Surely, if you want to adapt a system that everybody uses on the road, which is the idea, there might be some logic behind it, but at the end of the day we are not driving on the road, we are racing.”
Under the proposal drivers would accrue penalty points in addition to the existing penalties, and would be forced to miss a race once they reach 12 points.
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Image © Red Bull/Getty
puneeth Bharath (@puneethvb)
11th May 2013, 18:50
Now some people will start opposing the penalty point system just because Vettel does not like it.. and some others will start supporting it because of the same reason :)
MNM101 (@mnm101)
11th May 2013, 19:01
After reading the article with all the details, i agree with him to an extent.
A penalty points system would be a good addition but not to the extent that was proposed, i think points should be given for serious things like crashing into other drivers or “malicious” actions, but not for pit lane speeding, yellow flag mistakes, impeding and other minor things which the penalties currently given are plenty enough
Nick.UK (@)
11th May 2013, 19:09
They already have a decent enough system in place really, they just need to expand it. Currently if you have 3 reprimands in a season you get a penalty. Why not develop that so 10 within a 30 race period leads to a ban. Just a thought.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th May 2013, 19:10
I kind of agree: I think for minor offences the current reprimand system is fine.
jpowell (@jpowell)
11th May 2013, 19:11
The boys right on one thing.If one of the big points scores is for causing a collision ,It would be essential to agree on how much of a collision is a collision ,if a collision is a collision,is it a hairs breadth collision or a perhaps a more dangerous collision ,say a slight collision that causes some damage to a pirelli,Oh no! Not tyres,again.
luc
11th May 2013, 19:17
Nice one Vettel, I’d been waiting for drivers to speak up against FIA’s craziness..it’s like the penalty’s the drivers get, when they are forced to change a gearbox or engine before the minimum life, just for money saving and everything.
On top of that, my example isn’t really the fault of the drivers , so why do they get the penalty’s for it?
TMF (@)
11th May 2013, 19:30
Even if they drop the points for things where the driver hasn’t full control. There is still the problem of inconsistencies and double standards we see frequently. I think they need to work on this before they can introduce a point system that is an additional punishment for each incident.
GT_Racer
11th May 2013, 19:31
The problem with what we have now when it comes to ‘small’ offenses is that drivers can get away with repeating the same thing over & over.
Pit Lane speeding for example, Right now you get a fine if you speed during Practice/Qualifying & a Drive-Thru in the race.
There are drivers out there who have broke the pit speed limit in practice repeatedly & when it comes to fines most of the time there paid by the team rather than directly out the drivers pocket so there is effectively no punishment for the driver.
If a driver is repeatedly breaking the pit speed limit then he clearly either doesn’t care or simply isn’t learning from the past fines & in that case a penalty points system woudl get drivers to think more about sticking to the pit speed limit throughout the weekend.
Same with things like missing the drivers briefing, If you keep doing it then clearly you don’t care & while missing the drivers briefing may not seem like a big deal there are things discussed in these meetings which drivers need to know & which needs to be listened to.
With Yellow flags, There there for the safety of the marshal’s as well as the drivers & intentional or not failing to slow down in a yellow zone deserves a punishment.
BasCB (@bascb)
12th May 2013, 10:55
exactly that GT_racer.
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
11th May 2013, 20:15
Surprisingly good analysis from a driver – taking both sides into account and not being provocative. Had Vettel posted this on F1Fanatic, I bet he would’ve had CotD!
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th May 2013, 22:27
@hotbottoms maybe he is an avid visitor on F1fanatic with a hidden identity, possibly as an Alonso fan so we don’t suspect anything…
Kingshark (@kingshark)
11th May 2013, 23:37
@vettel1
Yes, I am Sebastian. I admit.
celeste (@celeste)
11th May 2013, 23:55
@kingshark I knew it! ;)
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th May 2013, 23:55
@kingshark I would never have guessed…
You put up half decent arguments Seb ;)
Kingshark (@kingshark)
12th May 2013, 7:12
@vettel1
I could put up amazing arguments in favor of Vettel if a tried. I wasn’t a city debating champion for nothing. ;-)
If Seb joins Ferrari one day, watch me defend him with my heart. :)
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th May 2013, 10:32
@kingshark I’ve not quite reached that level (mostly because we lack a debating society in my school) but I’ve had a fair few debates with teachers, usually religious education ones ;)
Zantkiller (@)
11th May 2013, 20:29
The only penalties which became overwhelming last year were the engine penalties.
They should be points docked from the team and a fine(Along with anything outside the drivers control such as an unsafe release).
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th May 2013, 20:31
The issue then is what fine to impose though: a €100000 fine might be play money to RBR but it could really affect Marussia.
DC (@dujedcv)
11th May 2013, 21:57
I also agree with him. I think that penalty points system is just another attempt to control the drivers in some extent.
Tomsk (@tomsk)
12th May 2013, 0:04
Best to speak out against the points system now, as he’ll probably get points for doing that in the future…
periwinkle (@shena)
12th May 2013, 0:09
There’s a reason why he’s been in a GPDA director role four years in a row despite being relatively quite a young driver, I guess.
Drezone
12th May 2013, 0:30
It’s funny vettel would oppose this
After all his misdemeanours over the last couple of years he probably would’ve been one of the first already to have had a one race ban
David-A (@david-a)
12th May 2013, 0:58
It’s funny you only ever pop up to whine about Vettel
Drezone
12th May 2013, 1:17
Because I like to respect triple world champions
It’s hard to put vettel in the same category as Senna, Stewart, Brabham, Piquet and Lauda
David-A (@david-a)
12th May 2013, 2:18
This thread has nothing to do with them, but like it or not, Vettel is a triple F1 world champion and therefore is in the same category. All despite being just 25 years of age.
aka_robyn (@)
12th May 2013, 2:31
It’s actually really simple: you look at how many championships each of them has won, and you note that wow, they have each won three, as has Vettel! Although…then you notice the age at which Vettel managed to do it, and then…hmm, yeah. I see what you mean. ;-)
AlokIn (@)
12th May 2013, 8:35
+1, it is common that people who usually feel that they may be penalized oppose such things.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th May 2013, 10:45
@alokin why hasn’t Maldonado then?
AlokIn (@)
12th May 2013, 13:01
He knows he is not going score any more points i.e no point in opposing it ;)
lucho19 (@lucho19)
12th May 2013, 0:32
Well said Seb. I hope he
gets more vocal and influece positively F1.
Drezone
12th May 2013, 1:20
Wether you like vettel or not and use this as a bias towards his comments you don’t see people like raikkonen complaining or commenting
He just lets the racing do the talking and deals with the rules and situation
David-A (@david-a)
12th May 2013, 14:54
That’s because he presumably hasn’t been asked about it by an interviewer, and had the article of the response published on any websites.
And as a triple world champion, Vettel’s driving has already spoken.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
12th May 2013, 7:12
I agree with him to an extent. On the road you have certain rules like ‘overtake from the correct side’, ‘keep to the left/right’. In the absence of such rules in F1 its gonna be difficult for the stewards to penalise. Apart from things like pitlane speeding and yellow flag most others are difficult to judge. And why penalise the teams with points for a driver’s fault?
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th May 2013, 10:48
@malleshmagdum they aren’t punishing the teams though: if the driver reaches 12 points he will serve a race ban but the car can still be entered with another driver of course.
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
12th May 2013, 11:57
@vettel1 but by having a point reduction system, the team also loses points. Or is it that only driver’s points are deducted?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
12th May 2013, 12:11
@malleshmagdum No one is having any points deducted.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th May 2013, 12:56
@malleshmagdum ah I see what you’re thinking. No it’s not a points deduction, it is like penalty points on a British driver’s licence: if you get 12 of these (aren’t at all related to championship points) you get a race ban. So it’s only the drivers that are affected, not the teams!
Mallesh Magdum (@malleshmagdum)
12th May 2013, 15:53
@vettel1 oh ok. Although i am aware of British system, it didnt strike my mind as we Indians dont hv such a system in place.
Lauri (@f1lauri)
12th May 2013, 10:50
Missing a race isn’t end of the world. You usually DNF for very small problems. So DNF for 12 penalty points – what’s the problem? If you earn the points then deal with the consequences.