FIA's Masi: Wrong to compare Vettel and Verstappen incidents

FIA race director Michael Masi took exception to Ferrari's desire to compare the incident involving Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in Austria with Sebastian Vettel's clash with Lewis Hamilton in Canada.

After yesterday's ruling, by which the on-track clash between Leclerc and Verstappen was deemed a racing incident by the stewards, Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto expressed his discontent with the decision.

Binotto argued that "a collision has happened" and Leclerc was forced off the track.

"So we believe these are clear rules, which we may appreciate or not, and these are exactly the same rules which have been applied in past races."

• Ferrari won't protest stewards' 'wrong' decision on Verstappen

Masi however made clear that the two events took place under very different circumstances, adding what happened to Daniel Ricciardo against Lando Norris in France into the mix.

"The incident in Canada, Sebastian went across the grass, was in front, it wasn’t an overtaking manoeuvre," Masi explained.

"The one with Daniel, with particularly Lando, was very much as part of Daniel going off the track and rejoining. Whereas this here was both cars were on the track, it was an overtaking manoeuvre.

"Trying to compare the three of them, they are three very different incidents.

"So from that end it was an overtaking manoeuvre and as the stewards rightly pointed out, in their view it was a racing incident and it was one of those it was just good hard racing from the perspective that they saw."

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