“I’d like to see a receipt for where that money goes!”: Sebastian Vettel calls out the FIA for penalizing drivers with ‘cash fines’ for incidents on track

Sebastian Vettel feels that the FIA fining drivers for reprimands due to incidents on track is unnecessary. 

Vettel had a quiet season on track with his new team, Aston Martin. The Silverstone based team entered 2021 with huge expectations but failed to live up to them. Their car was barely competitive and seemed to lack even more performance as the season progressed.

The former Red Bull driver managed to finish on the podium just once when he came second in Baku in June. He also managed a 2nd place finish in Hungary but was disqualified due to a fuel sample issue.

Off-track, on the other hand, Vettel used his voice to raise concerns about various issues. He was a big advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and taking measures against climate change. This week, however, he stepped up to talk about the governing body of F1 and how inconsistent they are with their verdicts.

After the season finale in Abu Dhabi, the 4-time World Champion took the stage to criticize FIA’s method of penalizing drivers. Vettel admits that nothing much has ‘gone worse’ in the sport over time, but the way drivers are ‘fined’ is unnecessary.

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The cash fines for reprimands are absolutely unnecessary, says Sebastian Vettel

Vettel has complained about inconsistency with the rules of F1 for many years now. However, he acknowledges that regulating these rules can’t be entirely correct all the time.

“Ideally, we’d like more consistency. But there’s also a human side. It’s probably difficult to get it 100% right,” Vettel said. “But I don’t think it has been any better or any worse than the past, with the exception of the fines for reprimands, in terms of cash. That’s just unnecessary.”

“I think it looks stupid to ask for 10,000, 25,000, 50,000 euros. I would like to see the receipt for what happens with the money!” Vettel added.

Despite an uneventful year, the 34-year-old won’t end the season empty-handed. F1 introduced an award for the driver with the most number of overtakes in a year.

Vettel is the inaugural winner of this award as the German driver passed other cars 127 times this season, more than anyone else.

Also read: Ex F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says Mercedes will look like ‘bad losers’ if they go ahead with their appeal