It has gotten to the point in Formula One where the stewards have to be stopped. Their constant review of racing incidents and officious assessment of penalties for hard driving — witness the pathetic drive-through assessed on Romain Grosjean in Hungary (highlights above) — is fundamentally ruining the sport.

But even the F1 sporting regulations now require that drivers leave room at the apex, a car’s width, regardless of whether the lead driver has violated the “two moves” rule prohibiting weaving and blocking. Absurd. Let them race, gentlemen!

Felipe Massa does not believe that Romain Grosjean should have been penalised for his bold passing move at Turn 4 during the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Lotus driver made a brave move on Massa on the outside of the fast left-hander, but was ultimately given a drive-through penalty when stewards deemed he had all four wheels on the outside of the white line that defines the track limits. After the race, Massa came to Grosjean’s defense, saying that the incident did not deserve a penalty.

Hungarian GP: Felipe Massa says Romain Grosjean penalty was wrong | AUTOSPORT.com.

I thought @RGrosjean was desperately unlucky though. I call massive BS on the drive-through. Only man that could have challenged Lewis.

— Will Buxton (@willbuxton) July 28, 2013

It’s a tough one: rules are rules, but this was the kind of move that used to be celebrated when performed by Ayrton Senna or Nigel Mansell and it seems to be sending out all the wrong signals to the F1 loving public to punish a breathtaking move like this.

Fans sympathetic to Grosjean penalty in Hungary | James Allen on F1.