Max Verstappen believes he is treated unfairly and joked FIA bosses have been using the money from his fines for their leisure.
In last week’s chaotic Saudi Arabian GP, the Dutchman was hit with two penalties, one for gaining an advantage after leaving the track and one for "erratic" braking, causing title rival Lewis Hamilton to plough into the back of him.
The 24-year-old was slapped with a 10-second penalty at the end of the race, but it did not impact his second-place finish.
At the previous race in Qatar, Verstappen was slapped with a five-place grid penalty after ignoring yellow flags during qualifying and was investigated for an incident with Lewis Hamilton, 36, at the Sao Paulo GP.
Ahead of the crunch title showdown with his Mercedes rival in Abu Dhabi this Sunday, the 24-year-old slammed the FIA for his treatment.
"I get treated differently to every other driver. I get given penalties for things others get away with,” Verstappen said today.
"I already paid them (the FIA) a good fine - they had good dinners and wine - but clearly it doesn't help."
FIA chief Michael Masi, who was very busy at the Jeddah Corniche circuit, discouraged Verstappen from crashing into Hamilton at Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Hamilton are level on points going into the final race of the season, but Verstappen has the advantage in the standings by virtue of the amount of race wins he's recorded (nine, to Hamilton's eight), and it had been speculated that the Dutchman could attempt to take the seven-time world champion out of the race in a bid to win the world title by default.
But Hamilton has received support in the form of Masi, who has warned race officials can still hand out points penalties for any under-handed tactics.
"I can’t control the actions of the two individuals, only they can," he said.
“But within the regulations we have penalties, be it time or grid penalties. In addition, the International Sporting Code has provision for the stewards to disqualify a competitor or dock championship points.
"So, yes, Max could be deducted points, as could any team. We hope it isn’t necessary, but it is one of the tools available. I will remind all the teams and drivers of these provisions."
Arguably the most entertaining and dramatic F1 season is set to reach a compelling climax.
The Red Bull driver is aiming to win his maiden world title, while Hamilton endeavours to win his eighth - which would set a new record.
The incredible finale to the epic world championship battle will be shown live on Channel 4.
Sky F1, who traditionally broadcast the races, have reached an agreement with the free-to-air channel to provide coverage of this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Channel 4 usually only show the British Grand Prix at Silverstone live, with the rest of their coverage in highlights, but they have shown one-off events before - including the 2019 Cricket World Cup final and Emma Raducanu's US Open triumph earlier this year.
Channel 4’s Chief Executive Alex Mahon said: “We are delighted that the whole nation will be able to watch what is set to be one of the most thrilling finales to an F1 season in living memory as Lewis strives to become the most crowned World Champion of all time.
“We are so pleased to be partnering with Sky to enable the widest possible audience to share this historic sporting moment.”
