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Former Top Gear Presenter Jeremy Clarkson Accuses F1 Stewards Of 'Ruining The Sport'

Former Top Gear Presenter Jeremy Clarkson Accuses F1 Stewards Of 'Ruining The Sport'

Clarkson's comments come after a series of penalties marred the Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Jeremy Clarkson has unloaded on Formula 1 stewards, accusing them of "ruining the sport".

The former Top Gear host's anger comes after a series of penalties marred the Austrian Grand Prix over the weekend.

Championship leader Max Verstappen clinched his third win in a row to extend his lead of Lewis Hamilton, while Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas came second and Lando Norris took up the final place on the podium.

But it was an incident involving Norris which left some motorsport fans fuming - Clarkson clearly being one of them.

Sergio Perez is forced off track by Lando Norris.
PA

British fan favourite Norris was slapped with a five-second penalty after appearing to force Red Bull's Sergio Perez off the track from the race restart.

When the safety car cleared, Perez tried to overtake Norris and get into second place - but the 21-year-old wasn't having a bar of it.

In a bid to block Perez from overtaking, Norris' defensive move forced his rival onto the gravel as he lost vital positions and dropped back into the chasing pack.

F1 stewards declared that Norris had copped a five-second penalty for his violation, meaning he ended up coming third in the race behind Bottas.

Some fans clearly didn't agree with the contentious call and it was former Top Gear host Clarkson who led the chorus of angry voices.

"F1 stewards. You are ruining the sport," he tweeted.

"Please, just resign. Go home."

Pretty strong words from one of the biggest names in motorsport.

Norris himself was in the same boat - well, sort of.

While he didn't quite take direct aim at the F1 stewards just doing their job, Norris did disagree with their decision to hand him a penalty.

"It was a lot of fun, it was a good race, exciting, but I'm disappointed because we should have been second place," he told Sky Sports.

Sergio Perez and Lando Norris.
PA

"I though that Lap 1 was just racing really, he tried to go around the outside which was a bit stupid, and he ran off the track himself, I didn't even push him.

"So I am frustrated, but also happy with P3, we had very good pace."

That wasn't the only wild moment involving Perez throughout the race either.

The Mexican Red Bull star copped his own time penalties later on following similar incidents - this time with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

"I said in the commentary that I didn't have a major problem with the Lando move (on Perez)," Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports.

"It was racing; it was hard racing, it was wheel-to-wheel, so then to get a penalty for that... I guess they gave themselves no choice when he had the same with Charles.

"But that's racing, otherwise you're going to get drivers just chucking themselves off the circuit and claiming penalties, so it's a bit disappointing."

Featured Image Credit: PA/F1

Topics: Lando Norris, Formula 1, F1, Penalty, Australia