AUSTIN -- Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has called on the FIA to be more consistent in its stewarding decisions after Max Verstappen was penalised for exceeding track limits at the U.S. Grand Prix.
The five-second time penalty dropped Verstappen from third to fourth in the final classification after he cut the apex of Turn 17 to pass Kimi Raikkonen on the last lap. The incident was particularly controversial as it appeared to be inconsistent with a number of other wheel-to-wheel moves earlier in the race where drivers had ended up with all four wheels off the track at Turn 1.
Horner believes there is a danger of alienating fans if F1 is seen to have rules that are not properly explained or enforced.
"It does affect the show," he said. "They have had a big show here today and there has to be a bigger picture to say that fans want to see this kind of racing and the rules have got to be consistent. You can't apply them differently to different instances. That is our frustration today.
"It was a fantastic show, a great last lap, Max deserved to be on the podium. You could see that Kimi did not understand why he was there and almost a little embarrassed to be there.
"The problem is that we all spend an awful lot of money going motor racing, and you want it to be consistently and professionally refereed. When you get decisions like today it is difficult to understand where the consistency is."
A similar incident occurred in Mexico last year when Verstappen finished third on the track but was stripped of his position for skipping the first chicane while defending position. Sebastian Vettel appeared on the podium, but he too was penalised after the race and forced to hand his trophy over to Daniel Ricciardo several hours after the race.
In Austin, Horner believes the stewards were under too much pressure to ensure the correct three drivers were on the podium and made a decision without properly weighing up the evidence.
"They were desperate to get the right people on the podium but they then jumped to a conclusion without considering all of the facts. After Mexico last year when there was at least one steward that was involved in that decision, it was agreed that to avoid the debacle of Mexico where there were three different people on the podium, to take a breath to understand and listen to the drivers. If you look at the consistency of decision making, that is what is disappointing today."
In his post-race comments, Verstappen targeted FIA steward Garry Connelly -- who was also working at the Mexican Grand Prix -- saying there was always one "idiot" steward. When Horner was asked if some stewards were not up to the grade, he added: "You would have to question...it is a question that has been raised before that consistency of stewarding depends on the stewards you get on the day, and some are very good and some are not."