Button: Vettel penalty “sad” and “disappointing” for F1 TV viewers

Button, winner of the Canadian GP in 2011 after Vettel made a last-lap error, was part of the Sky Sports F1 presenting team in Montreal. Immediately after the podium ceremony, he was asked to give his take on what had unfolded with the f ve-secondpenalty given to Vettel by stewards for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner.

“It’s sad – it’s disappointing when there’s a proper fight on out on track between two great, multiple world champions, and then the stewards are able to come in and take that away from us viewers,” Button told Sky. “It’s a shame. For me, it’s a racing incident.

“Yes, Seb made a mistake, but you’ve got to realise he’s doing over 100mph here, you can’t just stop the car and stay off the circuit. He’s had a snap, come back, and it doesn’t deserve a penalty for me, personally. I don’t think. But it’s a regulation, and they’re decided to take it.”

Button said the episode left “a sour taste” after a nail-biting race between the Ferrari and Mercedes team leaders.

“On a circuit like this, it’s so narrow, like a street circuit, these cars are massive,” he added. “You end up over that part of the circuit, you don’t chose to be there. Seb doesn’t want to crash into Lewis either. It’s a toughie, and it’s sad to see Lewis on the podium, he obviously wants to win, but not like that. He drove a stonker of a race, and pushed him into a mistake. But he couldn’t capitalise his position on the circuit, in the way that I think racing should be. Which is a shame.

“It’s a bit of a sour taste in the mouth actually, after such a great race.”