Nov.1 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton was surprised when he heard that, after winning a fourth title in India last Sunday, Sebastian Vettel was penalised.

"He was reprimanded?" the Mercedes driver told reporters in Abu Dhabi, according to Brazil's Totalrace.

"Are you serious? That's crazy!"

Indeed, Vettel spent some of his first moments as a quadruple world champion in the FIA stewards office, because his celebratory 'donuts' broke the strict post-race parc ferme rules.

Red Bull was also fined EUR 25,000.

But "The fans loved it," Hamilton insisted. "It didn't hurt anyone, it wasn't dangerous -- I saw it on the screen and the fans were going crazy.

"It was very cool to see," he added.

It might be said that Red Bull put two fingers up to the FIA's reaction this week when former team driver David Coulthard did donuts in a Red Bull some 210 metres in the air, atop the Burj Al Arab helipad in Dubai.

Team boss Christian Horner said the FIA needs to rethink its strict rules.

"I think the stewards perhaps need to be empowered to give a little more leniency in extraordinary circumstances," he said in Abu Dhabi.