Revisited: Sebastian Vettel expresses fury at stewards after Lewis Hamilton penalty

The first six rounds of the 2019 season had largely been a disappointment for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who had been thumped by Mercedes.

Hopes were high at Maranello of mounting a championship challenge, but across the first six races, Vettel and new team-mate Charles Leclerc had been steamrollered by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

But in Canada, things changed. Vettel was on a comfortable pole by 0.206s from Hamilton and then for the first 47 laps, the German had everything under control, even as Hamilton harried around behind, lurking within the DRS of the Ferrari. 

It would happen at Turn 3 on Lap 48 of 70. 

Vettel lost control of the rear into the downhill right-hander of the fast chicane, sliding across the grass and rejoining, just about in control of the Ferrari. 

But as Hamilton had been so close, he tried to slide up the inside, but was forced to jam on the brakes to avoid colliding with the Ferrari. 

An investigation was launched by the stewards, who promptly issued Vettel a five-second time penalty, leaving him with 13 laps to pull five seconds from Hamilton. He failed, only pulling 1.3s to hand Hamilton the victory, despite not crossing the line first. 

Post-race, Vettel pulled into parc ferme at the wrong end of the pit-lane, ensuring he met the requirement to be weighed, but appeared to be about to boycott the podium until he was coaxed by Ferrari to attend the ceremony. 

On his way upstairs, in a final act of defiance, Vettel memorably moved the P1 and P2 marker boards, placing the P2 in front of Hamilton's Mercedes, and placing P1 in front of where his Ferrari ought to have been. 

But at the end of the day, nothing was going to change the stewards' minds, as fans booed the podium for what had happened. 

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The aftermath

Ferrari announced it would appeal under the Right of Review mechanism, with testimony from Vettel himself thought to be key to passing the new, relevant, and significant threshold required by the FIA. 

At the French GP next time out, the protest was rejected, as it emerged Ferrari also submitted 'expert analysis' from Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok, which did not meet any criteria of the FIA, so Hamilton's win stood. 

Vettel would win just one more grand prix in his career, coming later that season in Singapore, in a year in which he was usurped as the darling of Ferrari by new team-mate Leclerc, and would not have his contract renewed, departing at the end of 2020.