FIA steward: “Penalty criteria for blocking in qualifying could change”

FIA steward Derek Warwick says the governing body could change its approach to how it penalizes those who impede a driver during qualifying.

A three-place grid penalty handed to Sebastian Vettel last weekend in qualifying for blocking Carlos Sainz generated controversy, with the Ferrari pitwall – which failed to inform Vettel over the radio of Sainz’s position on the track – the culprit of the mishap rather than the German driver.

Indeed Sainz himself absolved Vettel of any blame: “He didn’t see me and I think he was not warned by radio,” said the Spaniard.

“I think it’s the result of all of the drivers complaining that someone did this or someone did that,” Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel said.

Warwick, who was on the panel that decided the penalty, said the stewards had to punish the German last weekend.

“Our hands are tied,” he said. “The rules demand it.

“It has already caught out other drivers further down the grid, so you can’t punish them and not the big guys,” the Briton told Auto Motor und Sport.

The former F1 driver revealed however that the FIA is now thinking about tweaking the rules.

“Maybe there would only be a penalty if the action was dangerous or the affected driver doesn’t get into the next session or loses places,” he said.