DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne was hugely displeased with the stewards’ decision to hand him a five second penalty for causing a collision with Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy.
The Frenchman, who started second on the grid, battled for the lead with Cassidy in the early stages of a hugely-chaotic peloton race, and when the pair touched, the Kiwi came off worst, forcing him to pit for repairs, and eventually retire in the latter stages of the race. The decision relegated Vergne to seventh place, a disappointment considering the scintillating pace the Penske has been showing over the weekend.
Asked whether the penalty was fair, Vergne told Motorsport Week: “I don’t think it was.”
“I’m due to speak to the stewards, but let’s put it this way: I think it was the most unfair penalty I’ve ever had in my career – karting, everything.”
“Look at the race – nobody at the front finished with a front wing. Everybody hit me, left, right up, I had Pascal on the back of me, and the only penalty for a guy when I actually left him space, if I didn’t he’d have ended-up in the wall, and I was ahead of him!”
Asked whether the pace of the car provides encouragement for a better result in tomorrow’s race, Vergne simply replied: “Yeah.”
