Why Fining Sebastian Vettel for Donut Celebration at Indian GP Was Ridiculous

When Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line at the Buddh International Circuit to win the Indian Grand Prix for the third year in succession, his sense of delight, if not relief, was understandable.

Vettel had just achieved the incredible feat of winning a fourth successive world drivers’ championship at the tender age of 26. In doing so, he joined the great Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alain Prost as a driver to have won four titles or more.

If ever there was a time for exuberant celebrations, this was it, and Vettel chose not to return directly to parc ferme but instead back to the start-finish straight to perform a series of "donuts" before climbing from his Red Bull car, kneeling in homage in front of it before finally throwing his gloves into the crowed for one lucky punter.

According to the FIA Sporting Regulations, this was a breach of the rules under clause 43.3 and Vettel was summoned to the race stewards office to explain his actions.

A statement issued by the stewards, as detailed on Autosport, read:

"

The driver failed to proceed directly to the post race parc ferme as detailed under article 43.3 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations. Due to the special circumstances the Stewards accepted the explanation of the driver. The team failed to instruct the driver sufficiently to return directly to post race parc ferme.

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The result was a 25,000 euro fine for his Red Bull team, a mere pittance in terms of a team’s overall weekend expenditure. Yet the bigger picture remains that it seems a ridiculously petty decision from a governing body that appears determined to squeeze any modicum of fun from the sport.

Yes, you can down the "rules are rules" and the same applies for everyone route, but surely some form of common sense must come into play regarding extenuating circumstances.

India will not be hosting a Formula 1 grand prix in 2014 and its very future as a race venue is very much in doubt. It appears a shame, as the circuit is interesting and challenging, the culture brings a unique colour and vibrancy to proceedings and the fans certainly loved Vettel’s display at the end, and they deserved it. It was nice of Vettel to give them something back.

Gone were the tedious and rude boos from anti-Vettel hecklers during the podium presentations and an eagerly-anticipated weekend ended on a fitting high for those in attendance and watching on their television sets alike.

So the FIA’s reaction seemed a little over the top. It was as if they were saying, “Okay young man, you’ve had your fun, but don’t forget who’s in charge of this show.”

For me, at least, it appeared to be a patronising schoolboy telling off. Okay, so he is only 26, but this is ridiculous.

When made aware of the fact that Vettel was to be hauled into the headmaster’s office for his post-race stunt, Red bull team boss Christian Horner told Autosport that he would be surprised if anything other than a telling off would result:

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I would think he will probably get his knuckles rapped for it. I would be disappointed if he did [get punished] because to win a world championship and to show a bit of exuberance in front of a crowd like that, it is great for Formula 1. It is great for the show - and it will be a great pity to see that kind of thing subdued or penalised. But hopefully that won't happen.

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But Horner surely should have known better after Mark Webber had incurred the wrath of the stewards for hitching a lift back to parc ferme on the side of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari in Singapore.

Whilst the FIA certainly had a case there on the grounds of the drivers causing a potentially hazardous situation—CCTV footage shows just how close the pair were to getting hit—there seems to be little justification for throwing the book at Vettel on Sunday.