Photo: PSP Images

Jamie Green questions stewards thinking after drive-through penalty

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Jamie Green had the potential best finish of his season taken away after a late race drive-though penalty at Brands Hatch, which dropped him from sixth to 15th in the final order, which the Audi Sport Team Rosberg driver found questionable.

Green had led the majority of today’s race after opting for an alternative strategy, staying out until lap 31 of 40 before bringing his RS 5 DTM into the pits.

A slow in-lap and stop saw him rejoin just ahead of Pascal Wehrlein’s HWA Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM, and on cold Hankook tyres Green was unable to keep the German behind him, but he nearly had better luck while defending against the RMG BMW M4 of Marco Wittmann, but at Surtees, Wittmann attempted to dive to Green’s left as the Audi driver closed the door, with Wittmann running off track in avoidance.

Wittmann eventually made his move further up the hill towards Hawthorns, but before Green could get his new tyres up to temperature and mount an attack on Wittmann who had pitted over 20 laps earlier, the stewards swiftly dealt the Briton a drive-through penalty.

“I came out in the battle with Wehrlein and Wittmann and ended up getting a drive-through penalty, which I find a bit too strict to be honest,” said Green to TouringCarTimes.

“The question is was he up my inside? And was he up my inside enough for it to be a drive-though? I don’t know. In these cars, unless someone’s really alongside you, you can’t see them, as the seat is further back and the headrest means you can’t really see. I just tried to go left to be in front of him, and apparently, I wasn’t in front of him according to the stewards, so I got a drive-through.

“They’d given me a warning already, I’ve been told after the race this was because Philipp Eng tried to go around the outside of me at Turn 2 (Druids) on the opening lap, which was never going to happen and it wasn’t anywhere near being side-by-side, so I think the stewards need to be a bit careful, as it’s getting a bit like football with professional fouls – if you try around the outside and go off track, the other guy gets penalised, and I think in touring cars that’s unacceptable.”