“Why is it a penalty, I think it’s crazy”– Juan Pablo Montoya criticizes FIA for penalizing Sergio Perez

“Why is it a penalty, I think it’s crazy”– Juan Pablo Montoya criticizes FIA for penalizing Sergio Perez for forcing Charles Leclerc off the track.

On Sunday in Austria, two penalties were imposed during the race for drivers forcing their competitors off the track, in the first instance Lando Norris compelled Sergio Perez to go out at the kerb, and the former had to serve a five-second penalty in the pit lane.

But in the second incident, Perez forced Charles Leclerc into the gravel, as the latter was coming from the outside, and the Red Bull superstar also received a five-second penalty.

Both penalties were opposed by McLaren and Red Bull respectively, and now former F1 driver Pablo Montoya criticizes the decisions made by FIA.

“What happened in the race, in my opinion… I mean, why is it a penalty because there’s gravel?” Montoya told Motorsport TV Live after Sunday’s race.

“If there’s a run-off, is it not a penalty? If somebody drives somebody over a banana and off the race track, why is there not a penalty and why in Turn 4 is there a penalty? Because it was gravel? Anybody that you are side by side with and pushes you off the track should get a penalty?”

It’s the basic thing drivers learn

Montoya further emphasized his point by citing the basic lessons of karting, and he insisted that the drivers are told to force the driver off the track if they charge from the outside.

“I don’t know. I think it’s crazy. In my opinion, if I was the deciding person, I would say that if you were on the outside, you have no business being on the outside, and that’s been taught from the karting days.”

“Unless they change the mentality on the karting and the small formulas, how they do things, it’s very difficult. All these kids grew up [being told] that if somebody tries to pass you around the outside, you drive them off the fricking race track! And you have to!

“So what do you expect? Why do you get mad if you go around the outside? “The best example is Sergio. Sergio got dropped to the grass because he was on the outside, and then things inverted, and he was the guy on the inside, and he dropped the guy to the outside.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More