Marko upset by Mercedes' 'double engine damage' and wants to review penalty system

Red Bull was in a good position as of the last two races before the summer break. Max Verstappen had won several races in a row and Red Bull was on top of the constructors' championship. However, the incidents in England and Hungary changed all that.

Verstappen is now eight points behind the Brit and Red Bull has been pushed back into second place. In his review of the first half of the season at Motorsport-Magazine Helmut Marko says that the start was good, but that the team had a dramatic end thanks to the last two races.

"The first half of the season was positive up to the last two races, but of course it has come to a negative end and in that context, we must, of course, ask ourselves whether the penalty system - which has been put in place by Mercedes in both cases - is fair and whether one should not apply other standards."

Marko not happy with penalties

The Austrian has made this point on numerous occasions, but he feels that the penalties are particularly disproportionate. He takes as an example the penalties for Antonio Giovinazzi and Sebastian Vettel.

"Giovinazzi gets a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Vettel is disqualified because there is only 0.3 litres of fuel in his tank, and on the other hand we have double engine damage due to the collisions caused by the Mercedes drivers."

"Where finances are concerned you should have an exception rule," Marko continued. "Or you should be able to use a joker with such a high level of damage. If this happens once it can still be accounted for [in the books], but with us, it happened twice within a fortnight and then it becomes something that can be decisive for the championship."

Whether this joker will come and changes will take place regarding penalties remains to be seen. Marko is not the only one who thinks there should be changes.