Is the penalty Perez received from the stewards justified?

Perez's time could not be taken away, as it normally is. Q3 had already begun and there was nothing left to reverse. The reason the stewards didn't notice was that the Red Bull Racing driver went off track at an unusual corner with four wheels. The stewards were particularly focused on the penultimate and final corner.

They had to discuss at length what to do next and it was eventually decided that Perez would be relegated to 13th place. If the 32-year-old driver's lap in question had been deleted immediately in Q2, he would not have moved beyond P13. Perez did not have a good 'banker lap' and that has now ruined him.

FIA blunder

Perez was told that he would have to start from thirteenth on the Red Bull Ring, rather than from fourth. In fact, it can be said that the race control made a mistake by not noticing in time that Perez's time was not valid. Max Verstappen 's teammate is the victim of the FIA's inattention. By handing out this penalty, they are trying to rectify their own mistake.

Perez's luck is that there is a sprint race this weekend and that he can make up a lot of positions on Saturday before the actual Grand Prix. It is not inconceivable that he will be in the top six and start from the third or perhaps second row on Sunday.

Two sides to the story?

On the one hand Perez knew he could not afford any mistakes in his final run in Q2 and in the end he did not colour within the lines, while on the other hand the stewards did not intervene in time and now come up with a very hefty (but perhaps justified?) penalty as a kind of afterthought. Let us know what you think of the statement: 'The punishment Perez received from the stewards is justified' by filling in the poll and by joining the discussion in the comments.