Ferrari punishment labelled a joke as Red Bull threaten 2020 action

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko says the fine handed down to Ferrari for a fuel irregularity on Charles Leclerc's car in Abu Dhabi was "a joke" and has threatened to launch protests against the Scuderia in 2020.

Prior to lights out at the Yas Marina Circuit, Leclerc's car was found to have a "significantly" different amount of fuel inside than Ferrari had declared to the FIA.

Although Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expected a disqualification to be meted out, Ferrari were fined $50,000, but received no sporting penalty, so Leclerc kept his third-place finish.

The technical directive broken by Ferrari is one of several that have been issued recently amid growing scrutiny placed on the Scuderia's power gains in the second half of the season.

Marko has called on the FIA to get tougher on Ferrari, and has raised the prospect of taking the matter further next season.

He told AutoBild: "There are clear rules, this mild punishment for this offense is a joke.

"It's about fairness, about compliance with the rules, about equal treatment of all teams.

"Ferrari's engine has been scrutinised for several points, which are probably beyond any grey areas, but nothing was done to correct it.

"If we suspect that there are any irregularities, we will definitely protest, and then Ferrari will have to disclose everything and the FIA will deal with it adequately."

Max Verstappen said Ferrari had been prevented from "cheating" when the first of the TDs was issued ahead of the United States GP, while his father Jos said of the incident in Abu Dhabi: "You know that this was not a calculation error. Ferrari does not just make such calculation errors."

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