Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais has lashed out on the stewards’ choice to penalise his team-mate Jenson Button within the World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain.
One-time Method 1 world champion Button, competing in his remaining skilled race, was slapped with a 30-second cease/go penalty for inflicting a collision with the #54 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Thomas Flohr within the Bahrain 8 Hours.
The Briton was battling with the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde for sixteenth place within the fourth hour once they approached the Ferrari of gentleman driver Flohr into Flip 3.
Whereas van der Linde took the within line, Button tried to go across the Swiss billionaire and put a lap on the LMGT3 contender. Nevertheless, as they exited the right-hander, the 2 vehicles made contact, sending the Ferrari into the limitations and triggering the primary security automobile of the race.
Button was deemed “wholy accountable” for the incident by the stewards, with the penalty leaving the #38 Jota Cadillac V-Sequence.R he shared with Bourdais and Earl Bamber two laps down in sixteenth place.
Nevertheless, four-time CART champion Bourdais sharply criticised the decision, arguing it displays a long-running sample of prototypes being punished for incidents involving LMGT3 vehicles.
“I am actually uninterested in the stewards’ choices that do not appear to grasp racing,” the 46-year-old advised Motorsport.com.
“It is extraordinarily irritating. All the paddock of drivers and 75% of the paddock goes to assume that the GT is at fault.
“They’ve cameras, they’ve each manner attainable to see what is going on on behind them. The man overreacts to the BMW that is poking his nostril to the best and makes contact with the again of JB’s automobile to his entrance. How is that the prototype’s fault?
“What was he purported to do? When he has to go to the skin, there isn’t any room on the best. So the place is he purported to go?
“I simply need them sooner or later to be like, ‘OK, you assume that is your highway. Inform me what it’s that you just assume we must always have achieved?’ You probably have a strong argument, then I perceive. However in any other case, I am sorry. It is only a racing incident and we’re simply fortunate we did not get taken out.
“Sadly, that is by no means the best way they go about it. When there is a crash like this, somebody must be responsible – and it is at all times the prototype, and I am simply uninterested in it.
“Sadly, it is not even a drive-through or 10-second penalty. So we bought that minute misplaced. So then, I do not even know why they allow you to end the race. As a result of they may as effectively park you at that time. You are achieved. It is irritating.”
He added: “Each time, it is simply fallacious facet of the fence [for us]. It is irritating. We have eaten all of the crap this 12 months, and hopefully it’ll be an excellent one subsequent 12 months.”
Whereas the sister #12 Cadillac raced by Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens completed as the highest Cadillac LMDh automobile in sixth, the #38 by no means gave the impression to be within the hunt for a high consequence.
Bamber began the race from thirteenth on the grid however had dropped in direction of the rear of the pack when he handed over the automobile to Button within the third hour.
Bourdais felt strategic errors left Cadillac on the again foot within the opening levels of the race, earlier than Button’s incident with Flohr ended any hopes of a restoration.
“Actually, we made the fallacious name on technique,” the Frenchman defined. “We had saved gasoline and we must always have gone lengthy. The engineers overreacted a little bit bit to the visitors scenario and the BMW and as a substitute of going lengthy, we went brief.
“We had deliberate to shortfuel to leap them, however you then shortfuel, as a substitute of having the ability to go quick since you brief gasoline and also you stopped early, now you have to save gasoline once more. So, we could not run away.
“That was a giant mistake. Then you definitely miss the practice, you begin to drop time. We misplaced tyre temp, we misplaced area and you then’re not in the best place within the race anymore, and you are not combating.
“So, we put JB within the automobile however the harm was already achieved in some methods. We had been praying for a security automobile and sadly, the security automobile was [caused by] us.”
Full stewards verdict
“Having reviewed the video proof, the stewards decided that Automobiles 38 and 20 had been following Automotive 54 when approaching Flip 3. Automotive 20 tried to overhaul on the right-hand facet, whereas Automotive 38 moved to the skin. Automotive 54 remained within the center, sustaining its racing line with none erratic change of route. On the exit of Flip 3, the rear of Automotive 38 made contact with the entrance of Automotive 54 at hight velocity, inflicting Automotive 54 to spin and crash into the limitations.
“Contemplating the matter extensively, the stewards concluded that Automotive 38 was wholly chargeable for the incident, as Automotive 54 had acted accurately all through. The Stewards subsequently determined to impose a 30-second stop-and-go penalty on Automotive 38.”
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