Ten seconds and three points on the card fell to Lance Stroll this weekend after pushing against the grass to Sebastian Vettel in qualifying for the sprint on Saturday in Brazil.
This action by the Canadian was very similar to what happened a few weeks ago with Fernando Alonsounlike the double world champion of Formula 1 literally flew through the air after colliding with the young pilot of Aston Martin.
Analyzing what happened in his weekly post-race column, Jacques VilleneuveF1 champion in 1996, has charged Stroll for his “maneuvers endangering a life”.
“I’m ‘thrilled’ with Stroll and the FIA points system. Verstappen received a five-second penalty, when Hamilton had not left him space. It was aggressive on both sides, a racing incident in my view. But Stroll was given ten seconds for a life-threatening maneuver,” he says.
“The mode in which he moves and blocks should not be allowed. That’s not racing. He did it in Austin, in Mexico he was aggressive with Gasly and now this,” he adds.
In fact, Villeneuve charges against the FIA for its permissibility: “The FIA does not punish this harshly enoughnot even in junior competitions, and that’s why it keeps happening.”
Vettel, Stroll’s partner and last victim, wanted to downplay the matter after the ‘qualy’: “Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Of course he was very close with Lance, but really, it’s only a few tenths of a second and from the ‘cockpit’ (inhabitant) you can see much less than with the cameras. I wanted to go inside, but then the distance was reduced.”
Of course, Villeneuve does not believe that Fernando Alonso go ‘swallow’ so much: “Sebastian Vettel, your partner and victim of this incident, is a true gentleman, but I don’t think Fernando Alonso will be so calm next year“.