ROUND 23: 🇶🇦 Qatar
FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS QATAR GRAND PRIX 2024
Circuit stats
- Circuit name: Lusail International Circuit
- First Grand Prix: 2021
- Number of laps: 57
- Circuit Length: 5.419 km
- Race Distance: 308.611 km
- Lap record: 1:24.319 Max Verstappen (2023)
- 2023 winner: Max Verstappen
The stewarding was unnaturally harsh this weekend. It started with the stupid pen for max in quali and then my god in the race. From the start, the 10 seconds penalty for stroll seemed excessive considering it was lap 1. Then the ridiculous stop and go for Norris and the drive through for lewis. The level of inconsistency in the stewarding is unprecedented. Great job by the FIA and bin Sulayem in firing all the competent people from the organisation.
The problem with inconsistent penalties is because there are a range of punishments for most offenses. Its meant to give discretion to the stewards to adjust the level depending on the malice and/or impact assigned to the offense. Obviously this completely falls down when you fail to define something so nebulous as malice or impact in these same rules and have different people interpreting it week to week.
If we had just one penalty for say forcing a driver off, or speeding in the pit lane, then had a multiplier if it was intentional or not, that would at least clear up the consistency around the size of a penalty. Overtaking by exceeding track limits should be a flat 10 second penalty for everyone as an example, not 5 seconds one week and 10 seconds the next.
Blocking on a hot lap should always be a 5 place grid drop, blocking on a slow lap should never be a penalty, but what even is the point of a 1 place drop? Like WTAF, its like they been told to punish Max (for something that should not be an offense) then chose the smallest possible punishment going.That simply shouldn’t be possible.