Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have hit out at the "stupid" track limits penalties dished out at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, while George Russell has suggested F1 should revert to a single race director.
The sport has strict rules this season regarding exceeding the borders of the circuit, with 43 offences notched for crossing the white line during Sunday's race, won by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull racer and incumbent world champion Verstappen came home second while Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was third, but the former admitted that events felt somewhat overshadowed by the stringent enforcement.
"I think the track limits debate this weekend has been a bit of a joke," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
"I don't think we should have this value on one millimetre over, that's a penalty or whatever. Then just add a wall or put some gravel back. I think that's great because there is gravel, you punish yourself if you go wide.
"These kind of things, I think it just doesn't look good for the sport."
McLaren's Norris, who was hit with a five-second penalty for repeat abuse, was also frustrated by the rules, adding: "You can't see the white lines. It's just guessing and I'm obviously not good enough at guessing.
"But I got a warning from Turn 1, and it was just a complete mistake. I lost time, so when you look at it that way, I can say it's a bit stupid. This was just me making mistakes. So I don't feel like I should be punished for it."
Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Russell meanwhile questioned whether the application of the rules was down to F1's revolving cast of race directors this season.
The sport has utilised multiple directors after Michael Masi's infamous handling of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of last season, which ultimately helped hand Verstappen the world title at Hamilton's expense.
"We don't want to be dishing out penalties left, right and centre but there needs to be an element of consistency somewhere and I think we need to look at the root cause of the issues," Russell added.
"I do agree that we need to stick to one race director. We need to have a bit more consistency with the stewarding.
"We come to the following event and often the steward in the previous event is not there. There's no accountability, no explanations of decisions. It is tricky. Everybody's got their own interpretations."
Lewis Hamilton warned not to expect instant results from Mercedes upgrade
Toto Wolff has warned Lewis Hamilton that Mercedes’ upgrade is unlikely to provide a swift end to his losing streak.
Hamilton and team-mate George Russell were given their first taste of the team’s revamped machine in Monaco.
Hamilton and Russell qualified sixth and eighth, before making up two and three places respectively in Sunday’s rain-hit race following an early call to move from slick to wet rubber.
Traditionally, the Monte Carlo layout has been among Mercedes’ worst tracks with this weekend’s race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona set to represent a truer reflection of the team’s outright speed.
But Wolff believes he did not see enough progress from their upgraded car to suggest they will immediately move ahead of Aston Martin and Ferrari in the pecking order, or challenge Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team who have won all six races this year.
“We need to be careful,” said team principal Wolff. “We will collect more data in Barcelona, but I don’t expect us to clear Ferrari and Aston Martin there either.
“It is about understanding what does this car do now and how do we set it up?
“We are good at grinding away. Last year, the package was terrible at the beginning of the season, and we won a race in Interlagos [at the penultimate round] so we will get there.”
Hamilton finished 39 seconds behind Verstappen on Sunday as the Dutchman claimed his fourth victory in six races to extend his championship lead to 39 points.
Red Bull have now won 15 of the last 16 grands prix, with Verstappen, who grazed the wall en route to taking the chequered flag in Monte Carlo, remaining on course to race to his third world title in as many years.
Asked if Verstappen’s dominance is proving to be a turn-off for the sport, Wolff replied: “When you win in Formula One it is a meritocracy.
“They have done a good job and the car is fast in all conditions and the driver is at the top of his game.
“We need to do a better job, catch up, find intelligent solutions and hope our development slope is steeper than theirs, and eventually fight again.
“Whether it is good for the show or not, a strong fight between 10 drivers, or at least two, is obviously much better for all of us, but we have to accept it and work to get back there.
“The best driver in the best car spending the same money wins the championship, and if you break the rules you should be heavily penalised, but only then, and you should not be penalised for simply doing a good job.”
Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin ‘will not give up’ in push for F1 triumph
Fernando Alonso has not given up hope of defying the odds and beating Max Verstappen to the Formula One world championship after he finished second at Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Alonso took the chequered flag 27.9 seconds behind Verstappen and has now secured five podiums in six races following his transfer from Alpine to Aston Martin.
The 41-year-old Spaniard will head to his home race at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya next weekend 51 points adrift of Verstappen and a dozen behind Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull.
“The championship is long and we will not give up,” said Alonso after he finished runner-up for the first time in nine years.
“Red Bull and Max are dominating every race. The Red Bull is untouchable and even with great results, we are behind them. We are relying on weekends where they have issues.
“If Max has one or two of those, then we will be a little bit closer in the championship.
“This is motorsport and anything can happen. On true pace we are not there yet, but we won’t give up.”
Alonso kept Verstappen honest throughout Sunday’s race and was holding out on old rubber in the hope that rain would arrive.
But when it did, Alonso stopped for drys believing the track would not be wet enough for intermediate tyres.
However, the downpour continued and the Spaniard was forced to come back into the pits on the next lap, scuppering any chance of claiming his first victory in a decade.
“Maybe it was extra safe but in that minute-and-a-half it took to go through Turns five, six and eight again, the track changed completely,” added Alonso.
“The lap we stopped was completely dry but on my out-lap from the pits, it was wet.
“There was a huge margin behind me to do two stops and we thought it was the right thing to do. It was a complex race to read and execute.”
Max Verstappen defies rain and Fernando Alonso threat to win Monaco Grand Prix
Max Verstappen survived a rain shower and the looming threat of Fernando Alonso to secure an impressive victory at a one-sided Monaco Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who beat Alonso to pole position by just 0.084 seconds, kept his cool in the slippery conditions to lead Sunday’s 78-lap race, which lasted nearly two hours from start to finish, as he secured his fourth win of the season.
Alonso finished 27.9 seconds behind the Red Bull driver with Esteban Ocon third for Alpine, as the Frenchman claimed only the third podium of his career.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took advantage of the rain to cross the line in fourth and fifth respectively for Mercedes.
Sergio Perez started last after he crashed out of qualifying and finished 16th following a terrible race for the Mexican driver which included five pit stops.
With Perez failing to score, Verstappen extended his lead in the standings from 14 to 39 points after six rounds of 22.
A dreary race suddenly burst into life on lap 51 as it started spitting at Casino Square, through Mirabeau and on the entry into the tunnel.
Verstappen held a 10-second lead over Alonso but, despite the rain, Aston Martin hauled the Spaniard in for his first stop of the day and elected to send him out on the dry rubber.
However, the spots of rain became heavier and Verstappen – now on 52-lap old slick tyres – had to tippy-toe his way back to the pits.
“I have to drive super-slow because my tyres are f*****,” said Verstappen.
The Dutchman briefly lost control of his Red Bull on the entry to the tunnel, grazing the wall, before safely making it back to the pits to bolt on the intermediate tyres.
Aston Martin’s call to send Alonso out on the dry tyres afforded Verstappen some much-needed breathing space, with the Spaniard back in on the following lap for the intermediate rubber. He managed to hang on to second, but was now 22 seconds down the road.
A lap earlier, Mercedes and Alpine had been the first to move from dry to wet tyres, propelling Hamilton above Carlos Sainz and Russell ahead of Charles Leclerc. Ocon remained in third.
Sainz then became the first of the major players to spin – losing control of his Ferrari under braking at Mirabeau, kissing the wall, and dropping him down the order.
The rain continued to fall and the chaos continued. Russell was hit with a five-second penalty after he ran off the road, and rejoined in front of Perez, causing the two men to make contact.
Lance Stroll hit the barriers twice and Haas’ calamitous decision to keep Kevin Magnussen on slick tyres backfired as the Dane crunched the wall at Rascasse.
Up front and with Verstappen in control, Russell put the power down to ensure his penalty would have no effect on his result, and called on his Mercedes team to allow him past team-mate Hamilton to help his cause.
“I am just stuck right up Lewis’ gearbox here,” said Russell, but the Mercedes men did not trade positions. Russell took the chequered flag 10 seconds clear to keep fifth.
Leclerc finished sixth, one place ahead of Pierre Gasly, with Sainz eighth and Lando Norris ninth for McLaren.
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