The Williams of Bruno Senna has remained adamant that Force India’s Paul di Resta fully deserved a penalty for their on track clash during the early stages of the Italian Grand Prix. The duo were battling side-by-side for 10th, when di Resta squeezed the Brazilian driver onto the grass and subsequently across the tarmac run-off area at turn 4.
Unlike Sebastian Vettel, who carried out similar tactics later on in the race to defend against Championship leader Fernando Alonso, Paul di Resta was not issued a drive-thru penalty. Although Bruno Senna respects the stewards’ decision, the Brazilian driver still believes the Scot should’ve been penalized for what Senna believes was driving reminiscent of Romain Grosjean at the Belgian Grand Prix.
"It was pretty clear," explained Bruno Senna. "I had the front wing of my car next to his car and then of course the tyre under braking and he squeezed me off the track. We touched. Fortunately, we didn’t launch each other but for me a driver has been banned for a race for doing something similar to that and even Vettel got a drive-through penalty for squeezing Alonso off the track. It’s a stewards’ decision, so we’ll respect it, but I don’t think that what Paul did was right. It’s racing and sometimes we make errors in judgement but it’s up to the stewards to decide."
As Bruno Senna rejoined the circuit after being allegedly forced off the track, the Brazilian driver nearly collected the unsuspecting Red Bull of Mark Webber. With no penalty imposed upon Paul di Resta, the Scot was able to continue and finish within the points, whereas Bruno Senna scored the last point by finishing the race on 10th.
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