11/06/2025 17:15
The first six rounds of the 2019 season had largely been a
disappointment for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who had been
thumped by Mercedes. Hopes were high at Maranello of mounting a
championship challenge, but across the first six races, Vettel and
new team-mate Charles Leclerc had been steamrollered by Lewis
Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. But in Canada, things changed. Vettel
was on a comfortable pole by 0.206s from Hamilton and then for the
first 47 laps, the German had everything under control, even as
Hamilton harried around behind, lurking within the DRS of the
Ferrari. It would happen at Turn 3 on Lap 48 of 70. Vettel lost
control of the rear into the downhill right-hander of the fast
chicane, sliding across the grass and rejoining, just about in
control of the Ferrari. But as Hamilton had been so close, he
tried to slide up the inside, but was forced to jam on the brakes
to avoid colliding with the Ferrari. An investigation was launched
by the stewards, who promptly issued Vettel a five-second time
penalty, leaving him with 13 laps to pull five seconds from
Hamilton. He failed, only pulling 1.3s to hand Hamilton the
victory, despite not crossing the line first. Post-race, Vettel
pulled into parc ferme at the wrong end of the pit-lane, ensuring
he met the requirement to be weighed, but appeared to be about to
boycott the podium until he was coaxed by Ferrari to attend the
ceremony. On his way upstairs, in a final act of defiance, Vettel
memorably moved the P1 and P2 marker boards, placing the P2 in
front of Hamilton's Mercedes, and placing P1 in front of where his
Ferrari ought to have been. But at the end of the day, nothing was
going to change the stewards' minds, as fans booed the podium for
what had happened. The article continues below.
1932464271532654761 The Seb vs Lewis rivalry may have peaked in
2017-18... But this skirmish in 2019 is surely their most iconic 😱
#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/wPxDXPYIRG — Formula 1 (@F1) June
10, 2025 Sebastian Vettel on 2019 Canadian GP penalty I lost the
rear of the car, so obviously it wasn't voluntarily going sailing
across the track, not knowing how and in which fashion, and so on I
will be rejoining. I think it is pretty clear I was on the limit.
I was pushing very hard throughout the entire race and… yeah.
Obviously I was going through the grass, and I think it's quite
commonly known that the grass isn't very grippy. "Then I was
coming back on track and just trying to make sure I have the car
under control. Once I regained control, made sure it was sort of
alright, I looked in the mirrors, and saw Lewis right behind me.
The aftermath Ferrari announced it would appeal under the Right of
Review mechanism, with testimony from Vettel himself thought to be
key to passing the new, relevant, and significant threshold
required by the FIA. At the French GP next time out, the protest
was rejected, as it emerged Ferrari also submitted 'expert
analysis' from Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok, which did not meet
any criteria of the FIA, so Hamilton's win stood. Vettel would win
just one more grand prix in his career, coming later that season in
Singapore, in a year in which he was usurped as the darling of
Ferrari by new team-mate Leclerc, and would not have his contract
renewed, departing at the end of 2020.
