Mike Krack wasn’t at all fazed that Sebastian Vettel was penalised for walking out of a drivers’ briefing, the team boss saying his driver has a right to his opinions.
The Aston Martin driver was handed a suspended €25,000 fine having been found guilty of breaking Article 12.2.1.f of the International Sporting Code at the Austrian Grand Prix, that breach relating to him walking out of a drivers’ briefing.
According to Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz, Vettel became frustrated when his fellow drivers spent 20 minutes arguing with no sign of a resolution.
“They kept going around… apparently, there was a big argument between all the drivers – they were talking about driving standards and it went on for 20 minutes,” Kravitz said.
Vettel got up and left.
The four-time World Champion was called before the stewards to answer a charge of having ’caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motorsport’.
Found guilty, he was hit with a suspended fine.
A 20-minute argument reportedly prompted Sebastian Vettel to walk out of the #AustrianGP drivers' meeting.#F1 https://t.co/whHHB5Cel9
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) July 11, 2022
Team boss Krack says while Vettel is entitled to his opinions, the rules are the rules.
“We briefly discussed it,” he told Sky Deutschland. “There are rules, the drivers have to be in the meeting and if you leave it, it’s in the regulations.
“So it’s okay the way it was dealt with and how it went.
“Sebastian certainly had an opinion and you should give him that too.”
Vettel’s race weekend went from bad to worse, the German hit by Alex Albon in the sprint race and then Pierre Gasly in the grand prix.
He finished P15, well outside the points as he was also slapped with a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits during the race.
Asked about his driver’s mental state after a ‘weak’ grand prix weekend, Krack replied: “Sebastian is a professional – he can’t be thrown off track that easily.
“There was one or the other conversation, but he wasn’t completely down.
“He knows that stuff like that happens in the positions we’re going in. He’s taking it, so I’m not worried.”
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