Ex-Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson unloads: ‘You are ruining F1. Please, just resign’

Max Verstappen reeled off his third win in a row from pole in the Austrian Grand Prix to consolidate his world championship lead over Lewis Hamilton, who after finishing fourth said his toiling Mercedes team were “miles away from Red Bull”.

Second place in the ninth round of the season went to Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas with McLaren’s Lando Norris a fine third after picking up a five second penalty.

But it was a race dominated by frustrating time penalties as overzealous stewards got to work — angering former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson.

“F1 stewards. You are ruining the sport. Please, just resign. Go home,” Clarkson, who now works on TV show The Grand Tour, wrote.

Arguably one of the midfield races of the season after Verstappen charged on to another massive victory, Norris picked up a time penalty after being deemed to have forced Red Bull’s Sergio Perez off the track on the restart after a first lap incident ended Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s day early.

After the safety car, Perez went for Norris’ second place position after the young Brit started on the front row of the grid for the first time in his F1 career.

But the move saw Perez forced off the track and the Red Bull driver sank back into the midfield.

Norris, F1 chiefs hit back

While Norris was eventually overtaken by Mercedes’ Bottas and Hamilton, he was able to recover the position against Hamilton. However, he doesn’t believe he should have been penalised.

“It was a lot of fun, it was a good race, exciting, but I’m disappointed because we should have been second place,” Norris told Sky F1.

“I though that Lap 1 was just racing really, he tried to go around the outside which was a bit stupid, and he ran off the track himself, I didn’t even push him.

“So I am frustrated, but also happy with P3, we had very good pace.”

Even Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the penalty for Norris went too far, particularly when it came back to bite Perez again later with two five-second penalties for similar incidents against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

“I said in the commentary that I didn’t have a major problem with the Lando move (on Perez),” Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports.

“It was racing; it was hard racing, it was wheel-to-wheel, so then to get a penalty for that … I guess they gave themselves no choice when he had the same with Charles.

“But that’s racing, otherwise you’re going to get drivers just chucking themselves off the circuit and claiming penalties, so it’s a bit disappointing.”

McLaren’s team boss Andreas Seidl was left equally perplexed.

“To be honest, I don’t understand why he gets a penalty,” Seidl said of the Norris-Perez incident. “That is for me racing, racing that we all want to see, and I don’t think that Lando did anything wrong.

“He was just going on his racing line, he didn’t do anything stupid and did some type bombing or whatever, he was always parallel to him or even slightly ahead of Checo, so honestly, I don’t understand.

“Every go kart driver knows that if you go there to the outside the first race lap, you will end up in the gravel.”

With a final lap crash between Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel as well as eight more drivers facing scrutiny by stewards after allegedly driving too quickly under double-yellow flags at the end of the race, it was an eventful finish.

But the frustration over the five-second penalties was clear, as fans joined Clarkson in questioning whether the stewards were too heavy-handed.

‘Insane’ Verstappen’s Austrian masterclass

Verstappen’s latest step towards ending Hamilton’s hold on the drivers’ title triggered a carnival atmosphere in Formula One’s first capacity crowd since the coronavirus pandemic struck with most of the 100,000 in attendance decked out in his Dutch orange colours.

“To see so much orange in the stands is incredible, it’s an extra motivation, thank you,” Verstappen told his cheering congregation at the Red Bull-owned Spielberg circuit. “The car was unreal.

“It’s insane – I’m a bit amazed myself how today went. I didn’t expect it to be like this. Incredible job by everyone to deliver something like this.”

After his fifth win of the season Verstappen moved on to 182 points in the standings, 32 clear of Hamilton ahead of the seven-time world champion’s home British Grand Prix next month.

Hamilton, without a win since Barcelona in early May, had forecast after qualifying Saturday that beating Verstappen looked unlikely.

Aside from his Red Bull rival’s superior pace, damage to Hamilton’s car late on in the race cost him a likely second place.

“We’re miles away from them Red Bull. We need all hands on deck. They have brought a lot of upgrades over the last few races – and we haven’t brought any,” he said.

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