The Austrian Grand Prix was an affair met with equal measures fanfare and frustration. Handing out rather ill-conceived and extremely reactionary penalties left, right, and centre, just about everyone maintains Formula 1 stewards (read: public enemy number one) cost McLarenโs Lando Norris his first P2 race finish โ and nobody was quite as vocal about it as former Top Gear personality, Jeremy Clarkson.
โF1 stewards. You are ruining the sport. Please, just resign. Go home,โ tweeted The Grand Tour host, before affirming his belief that Norris was the โreal deal.โ
The five-second wrist slap was even deemed excessive by Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, whoโs driver โ Sergio โChecoโ Perez โ was the one supposedly being โavengedโ after being forced off the track limits by Norris. Checo himself would later cop two five-second penalties for similar incidents against Ferrariโs Charles Leclerc.
โI said in the commentary that I didnโt have a major problem with the Lando move,โ explains Horner.
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โIt was racing. It was hard racing, it was wheel-to-wheel. So then to get a penalty for thatโฆ I guess they gave themselves no choice when he had the same with Charles.โ
โBut thatโs racing. Otherwise youโre going to get drivers just chucking themselves off the circuit and claiming penalties, so itโs a bit disappointing.โ
Incidentally, this wouldnโt be the first occasion Jeremy Clarkson voiced his grievances regarding the wider sport of Formula 1. While some of his issues have since been โresolvedโ by Mercedes losing ground on its dynastic hegemony at the steady hand of Dutch-born Red Bull talent Max Verstappen and his team, the motorhead with a mouth made some (hilarious) points.
โWell number oneโฆ get rid of the stewards,โ Clarkson told Drivetribe.
โDangerous driving is what the fans want. So if somebody does dangerous driving, Iโd give them an extra five championship points.โ
โNumber two โ the cars have to be stronger. They have to be able to withstand, you know, wheel-to-wheel action without bits of front wing coming off.โ
Check out the video of Jeremy Clarkson explaining everything wrong with Formula 1 in just three minutes above.
