Kimi Raikkonen offers his views on Vettel’s 5 second penalty in French GP

Kimi Raikkonen romped to a podium finish in the French GP yesterday after Bottas and Vettel were involved in an ugly crash on lap 1. The crash shook up the grid massively as both Bottas and Vettel found themselves towards the tail, and Raikkonen and the Red Bulls closer to a podium place.

The crash was investigated by the FIA stewards and they deemed Vettel guilty and hence decided to award him a 5 second penalty.

However, the sentiment in the Mercedes camp was that the 5 second penalty was a little too lenient, as confirmed by the comments of Hamilton and Lauda.

Raikkonen was quizzed about the 5 second penalty and if he saw the incident between Vettel and Bottas, to which the Finn had a very straight forward response, saying that these penalties even out in the course of a long season.

“I saw quickly what happened but not the part when they touched,” Raikkonen said.

“Things happen, there are stewards that give the penalties if they feel it’s right.

“Is it fair sometimes? Maybe not but I think it balances out in the long run between all of us. It was unfortunate for both of them but that happens sometimes.” he added.

Raikkonen’s podium finish was his first since Baku and he was happy that he could push all the way through despite a poor start.

“It felt quite slippery at the start. I chose the outside but it was the wrong way and I had to slow down a bit,” he said.

“I got a bit blocked with all the mayhem that happened.

“Then it was a decent recovery, long stint, and things worked well. We had enough speed and managed to get the podium.” he concluded