Brundle rules: 'Penalty Russell was too harsh'

In Austria, there was much talk about the many penalties handed out to the drivers. Martin Brundle speaks up for George Russell, who received a penalty for contact with Sergio Perez. The Mexican ended up retiring early.

Most of the penalties at the Red Bull Ring were for track limits, but some were also penalised for contact with another driver. Russell was one of those drivers. Brundle says in his column for Sky Sports F1 that he does not agree with the penalty.

"I thought Russell's penalty for contact with Sergio Perez on the opening lap in turn 4 was on the harsh side," Brundle revealed. The Briton drove a 1992 Benetton for a few laps and says turn four is one of the bottlenecks on the track. When a fully fuelled car arrives at turn four on lap one with cold tyres, Brundle says it is no surprise that it comes out wider than normal.

"I thought George did his best to climb the inside kerb and give space, and there was further space to the outside for Sergio," Brundle continued. On the other hand, Brundle says the driver on the inside [Russell] could have reduced speed.

About halfway through the race an identical incident took place, this time it was Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel in the lead. "I thought the penalty was fair enough," said Brundle. According to the former Formula One driver, Vettel could not give any more room to the AlphaTauri driver.