F1 TV analyst Alex Brundle has labelled the drive-through penalty handed to Arvid Lindblad at the Dutch Grand Prix as "harsh", arguing that drivers should not be punished for secondary overtakes while taking evasive action.
The race at Zandvoort was heavily disrupted on the opening lap when home hero Max Verstappen crashed at Turn 14. As Lindblad, who was one of the drivers behind the four-time champion, took evasive action, he passed Pierre Gasly's Alpine going into Turn 1.
The stewards deemed this a yellow flag infringement, issuing the Racing Bulls rookie a costly drive-through penalty.
Speaking on F1 TV's post-race show, Brundle sympathised with Lindblad's position.
"I think it is harsh. The accepted way to go about it as a driver is if you're effectively avoiding the crash, you avoid the crash and you do everything that you can to make sure that you don't become part of the accident," Brundle explained.
"It's difficult to then add in extra things that the drivers have to be aware of during an incident to make sure that they don't then pass a car secondarily to that.
"It depends how far you are away from the incident. But if you haven't actually passed a yellow flag and if you're actually trying to get around the incident, I think it's harsh then to penalise you for passing another driver while you're actually taking evasive action."
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Eric Le Galliot
The 19-year-old discussed the incident from his point of view after the race.
"Max lost it, then he came across the track, and there was debris everywhere. I couldn't really see anything," Lindblad told F1 TV. "I tried to avoid making contact. I think I almost hit one of his tyres. Then I was just holding my line and trying to just go straight to not have any incident or anything.
"Then I passed Pierre into Turn 1. But I didn't see any flags or anything. So it was a bit of a shame. I also think the penalty is a bit harsh. I think we can all be honest. It took me out of the race, basically. It was quite extreme for such an incident, but fine. It is what it is."
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Originally published by motorsport.com —
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