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Red Bull boss Horner wants F1's "harsh" Friday penalties to change

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says rival Formula 1 teams agree with him that the rules regarding penalties for Friday infringements need changing.

Horner was left frustrated at the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix when his driver Pierre Gasly was forced to start from the pitlane because he missed a weighbridge call after second practice.

Gasly had been asked by his team to push hard on the entry to the pitlane and did not spot the number board ordering him to stop for weight checks. The team's mechanics were focusing on preparing for a double practice pitstop involving both Gasly and Max Verstappen.

The harshness of the Gasly penalty annoyed Horner, and the matter was brought up with F1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn during a team meeting in Baku.

"Everyone agreed in a meeting we had with Ross Brawn and all of the teams that penalties on Friday that affect the rest of the whole weekend need a bit of a revisit, because I think maybe it was too harsh for the crime that was committed," said Horner.

"If he'd been 50kg underweight the penalty would have been the same. Unfortunately he wasn't."

Gasly recovered from the pitlane start to get up to sixth in the race before being halted by a driveshaft failure.

Horner acknowledged that the Friday practice penalty was something Gasly should have avoided, but felt there were extenuating circumstances.

"Obviously he's the one seeing the light and there's also a reminder, but we were focused on doing a double pitstop," he said.

"He'd been told to push to practice the pitlane entry, which is a bit different [in Baku], and he had a snap of oversteer on the way in.

"He's missed the lights and the team is focused on the first pitstop as a double pitstop for Max [Verstappen], so it was just one of those things."

Zdroj: autosport.com