F1 News: Aston Martin Calls For Consistency In Penalties After Singapore Grand Prix

Max Verstappen was let off with two reprimands and a €5000 fine for three separate impeding incidents.

Aston Martin has been unhappy with the way the FIA handled Max Verstappen's impeding antics during the Singapore GP qualifying and as a result, the team has asked for consistency in the rules. 

The Red Bull driver in question was allegedly involved in three separate impeding incidents in qualifying but still managed to escape a grid penalty. Instead, the punishment he received was two reprimands and a fine of €5000.

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The punishment was rather surprising considering the fact that in the past similar incidents have attracted three-place grid drops, whereas Verstappen was involved in the two impeding incidents on track and another incident in the pit lane. 

The on-track impeding incidents involved drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant while the pit lane incident involved several cars behind his RB19 when Verstappen stopped them from heading onto the track.

Sadly, when Tsunoda was blocked abruptly by Verstappen, it forced him to abort his run. Critics demanded a grid drop penalty for his act since it has been used in several similar instances this season. However, the Dutch driver was handed over a single reprimand for this incident.

Surprisingly, Verstappen might have expected a grid drop penalty too since he was heard saying on the radio that he didn't mind starting 11th, 15th, or last on the grid. Something seemed amiss with the way his impeding acts were dealt with. 

Critics also pointed out that an AlphaTauri representative was not present in the meeting with the stewards but, it was later highlighted that AlphaTauri hadn't received an official summons from the FIA. 

Sensing some sort of favoritism, Aston Martin's performance director Tom McCullough said he wished to see consistency in the penalties being levied on drivers. He told PlanetF1: 

“The stewards have all of the information.

"From our side when you’ve been impeded, it’s frustrating.

"What we really want is consistency.”

Sadly for Aston Martin, the Singapore GP was the first race of the season where the team failed to score a point. Lance Stroll was unable to race due to his injury in qualifying while Fernando Alonso struggled to bring his F1 car to pace, thus finishing P15.