Opinion : Stewards should let the racing go on
The late race incident of Kubica and Vettel at the Australian Grand Prix has already caused a lot of discussion, even before a penalty was handed. Although in some cases useful, I think a penalty in this occasion is outright inappropriate.
In fact I believe that the FIA stewards have their priorities switched. Rather than considering Formula One as a competitive sport, the race stewards tend to give the impression that they believe everything must be clean and tidy. Obviously, they also want more overtaking.
Michael Schumacher also mentioned to German newspaper Bild: "Vettel was on the inside - he couldn't make his car dissolve into thin air". I think most of the fans will agree with the seven times world champion.
It is interesting to ask yourself what would have happened when the cars would still be fitted with last year's front wings. Bumping into each other did only cause the front wings to break off, while the car's crucial parts like suspensions were intact. It was only a few corners later that both men hit the wall after not slowing down enough.
Keeping that in mind, would there have been a penalty if they bumped into each other without any damage - something which was very likely last year because of the much smaller front wings?
Steven De Groote
