F1 stewards defended over Max Verstappen penalty after disqualification call

Karun Chandhok has claimed F1 stewards actually awarded Max Verstappen the correct penalty in the Spanish Grand Prix after not disqualifying him. 

In the immediate aftermath of Verstappen's ramming of George Russell at Turn 5 of the Spanish GP, Nico Rosberg called for the world champion to be disqualified, a claim an overwhelming majority of F1 fans agreed with, according to the results of a RacingNews365 poll.

Verstappen was awarded a 10-second time penalty which dropped him from fifth on the road to 10th, losing nine points in the drivers' championship race as he now sits 49 behind leader Oscar Piastri. 

He also received three penalty points, taking him to 11 for the 12-month period, meaning he must navigate the Canadian and Austrian GPs just one point from a ban. 

However, Sky F1 pundit Chandhok feels that the penalty points awarded was actually the correct decision along with the time penalty than a disqualification.

"I think there is a case to discuss and debate the black flag," Chandhok told the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

"But if you look at what happened, the speed where it happened, where it happened, how it happened and the consequences, and I know the stewards say: 'Oh, we don't look at the consequences but they do, then I think the stewards did a good job. 

"They clarified there would be no further action for the Turn 1 thing, saying Max was in the right not wanting to give up the place, and I thought 10 seconds was fine. 

"It is one of those things which you have to look at how it is going to impact him, and in the end, the black flag would have cost him another point, but [being given] three penalty points is actually more important. 

"Because the one point in the championship is not a big deal, so I think it was right what was awarded to him."