Vettel/Hamilton got reprimanded a couple of years ago for "racing" in the pitlane,since then there have been clear instructions to the drivers from Whiting with regards to what is and what isn't ok. But that's completely separate from today, today quite frankly Raikkonen and Ricciardo didn't want to pay the "price" of sitting in the pitlane and having their tyres cool off so they tried to "sneak" into a better track position from the side. Completely silly. Has nothing to do with stewards not understanding it, I am sure they understand very well what Raikkonen and Ricciardo tried to do and the stewards tried to come up with an appropriate penalty. At the end of day it was the end of the pitlane, no mechanics were being put in danger with cars being 3 abreast, but somehow the stewards have to enforce fair-play regulations. They can't give drivers a signal that trying to sneak ahead of the queue is ok and they can't go all medieval on them since it wasn't that huge of a deal.
Not a huge deal? When there's 1:59 left in the session, having tyre temp is a huge deal, and having a position in the queue that allows you to get a gap and get to the line before the chequered flag is an even bigger deal. Jumping the queue lets you keep the blankets on longer and still get a good track position. The stewards have got this badly wrong.
A few years ago there was no requirement to wait in the fast lane or to refrain from pushing in at the front of the queue. If that was still the case now, I wouldn't mind because I don't see it as a huge safety issue, and there is no room for politeness when the imperative to get track position on the out-lap is as big as it was in Q2. But once you have a rule, it is grossly unfair to those who follow it not to punish those who break it, or to give out punishments that aren't serious. If you said to any of the drivers in that queue, if you use the nearside lane to jump the queue you'll get a 2-place penalty but it will guarantee that you'll make it to the line, most of those in the middle and towards the back of the queue would undoubtedly prefer to take the penalty (depending what laptime they had in the bank).
I also don't see why the failure to stop in the fast lane is not punished unless an advantage in terms of leaving order is gained. The regulation says nothing about gaining an advantage (unlike, for example, the rules on exceeding track limits). The regulation reads as a cut-and-dried, judgement-of-fact rule, similar to speeding in the pits or crossing the blend line at pit exit i.e. break the rule, get a penalty, end of discussion. I think they should enforce it in that way because otherwise these situations will get messier and messier - what about situations where the order of arrival is unclear because the cars arrive at the end of pitlane side-by-side? How do you know if an advantage has been gained. The stewards need to enforce the rules and make sure everyone blends into the fast lane like they're supposed to, and waits there in good order if the red light is on, like they have to in other championships e.g. V8 Supercars.
If I was Charlie I would say, at the drivers' briefing before the next qualifying session, that if you drive to the end of the pitlane and fail to line up properly in the fast lane, a marshall will come and stand in front of your car with a stationary yellow flag, and he will hold you in position until the green light comes on and all the cars that did line up correctly in the fast lane have passed you, and the matter will also be referred to the stewards who will, at minimum, issue a reprimand.
Indeed - 10 places extra penalty for that, please
