Häkkinen: Grid penalties are “ridiculous”

Mika Häkkinen spoke out against the incessant grid penalties in F1 following Power Unit changes. The Italian GP contested at the beginning of September in Monza highlighted this point since nearly ten drivers received a sanction.

“It's ridiculous that a driver is relegated to the back of the grid because his engine needs new elements. I know it's easy to criticize the system and difficult to find the right alternative, but a driver is not responsible if a team or supplier has to use new elements", commented the double F1 world champion on Bet.unibet.co.uk.

“We already had sanctions when I was driving in F1, especially when we behaved badly on the track. But this is normal and there are still such penalties for drivers today. These engine or gearbox penalties are on another level and completely unfair to the drivers. The teams and engine manufacturers know the rules when they create and design the cars or when they make changes. When they make a mistake, they should be the ones penalized and not the drivers. »

“The current system is like if one child misbehaves in class and the whole family gets punished. It doesn't really make sense and the public has difficulty following.", added the former pilot McLaren.

The current regulation, however, has some defenders concerning these penalties such as Gunther Steiner, the Team Principal of Haas F1 Team. Ross Brawn, the sporting and technical director of F1, however suggested that these sanctions could disappear in the future.