Martin was widely viewed to have been at fault for&nbsꩵp;a first corner pile-up involving six other riders.

The incident left title contender Marco Bezzecchi, plus🥂 Johann Zarco and Miguel Oliveira on the ground and, ultimately, out of the race.

Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini remained on two wheels but ✱dropped to the back of the fie꧃ld.

• Jorge Martin penalised for ‘irresponsi💫ble riding’, keeps podium
• “I did a front flip”: Riders talk Turn 1 chaos in𒁃 Austꦛria
• Martin: “It wasn’t my fault”, Quartararo “los💯t a bit of control” ♚after outside contact

Martin emerged from the first corner in sixth and was later involved in further controversy when Bezzecchi’s team-mate Luca Marཧini crashed as he was overtaken by the Pramac Ducati rider, for third place.

The FIM Stewards soon ruled that Marini’s fall was a racing incident, a verdict most, incl💯uding Marini, agreed with.

However, the Stewards handed Quartararo a quick, in-race, long lap penalty for ‘irresponsible riding’ ﷺafter simi🌜lar light contact while passing Lorenzo Savadori ended in a fall for the Aprilia wild-card.

“It’s difficult for us to understand why Fabio’s action was penalised when a🦹 similar incident by Martin wasn’t,” said Monster Yamaha t൲eam director Massimo Meregalli.

Martin was allowed to complete the race in third, without a decisiಞon being made on the Turn 1 incident.

As the hours passed without any news from the Stewards, many riders and teams were under the belief that Martin would not receive any punishment at a🧔ll.

However, at 7pm, the Stewards announced the Spani🌜ard had been given a long lap penalty for Sunday’s race for ‘riding in an irresponsible manner causing a crash’ (at Turn 1).

Marini: “Strange what happened. The Stewards didn't take any decision”

The lengthy delay in 🐷deciding Martin’s Turn 1 guilt had consequences for Marini.

The Italian pointed out that if Martin had been promptly punished - in the same way as Quartara✃ro for Savadori - their paths would not even have crossed. Or at least not at that moment, in the Turn 2 chicane where they made contact.

“The problem is that it's not clear, another time, about why and in which case thꦅe Stewards take the decision about the penalties,” said Marini, speaking before Martin's penalty was revealed. “Because in my opinion, Jorge must not be there in that moment [with me] because of what already happened in Turn 1.

“That♐ was more dangerous than what happened with me, because I think that with me it was just something, bad luck, because with his foot he touched my handlebar and I crashed.

“Sure, he didn't want to make me crash. I was just trying to make a wider line to avoi😼d any contact and also for him I think it’s the same, because we don't want to c♌rash into each other, never. Because we know that this sport is dangerous and also because every time there are strong penalties about these moves.

“So it's strange what happened after T🥂urn 1. The Stewards didn't take any decision, while with Fabio they took a decision very quickly to give him a long lap penalty.

“I think that if what happened in Turn 1 needed a penalty, then my incident would not h𝄹ave happened.”

The VR46 rider added: “I think that at the beginning of the season, we were in a situation of very strict regulations, a lot of penalties, even if there was no crash [Francesco Bagnaia had to give a posi🔥tion back to Jack Miller for a close pass at Jerez, Alex Marquez for 'disturbing' Johann Zarco and Brad Binder in Le Mans].

"While in some moment, they [the Stewards] changed [their approach]. They star🍨ted to be more free [lenient]. So pushing another rider out of the track is not a penalty, like happened in Silverstone, in my opinion, with some r🌳iders.

“But until now, when there ♏is contact and some crashes, every time there was a penalty. But today, no. So just it's not clear. Because with Fabio they give him a long lap penalty. So why Fabio yes ♌and not [Martin]?”

Bezzecchi, picking his words carefully, said: "For me, it's wrong to decide [about penalties] after the race 📖because you need to decide during ꦓthe race."

Having seen Martin involved in accidents for both of 🔯his riders, VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto said: “It is difficult to undeꦓrstand, in terms of regulation and also of Stewards, some steps and behaviours are not so precise and the penalties are not always clear.

“We find it hard to understand the decisions made today in t🅷he Sprint, involving our riders.”

Oliveira: “Long lap penalty, immediately. There's no discussion”

Oliveira had also been the victim of a first lap incident at Jerez, when he was taken down in a similar chain reaction, for which Qu𓆉artararo received a long lap penalty for the restart.

This time, the RNF rider couldn’t understand why Martin’s peﷺnalty decision dragged on, while Quartararo’s borderline move with Savadori resulted in a swift sanction.

“I don't want to get into polemics about it, it's not me who decides, it’s the three men up there that really make the calls. [But] in my humble opinion, it’s clearly a long lap penalty, immediately,” Oliveira sai💃d.

“There's no need to wait one sector for it. He caus𒊎ed the collision. Took - in a domino effect - many riders out. He misjudged a little bit probably the angle of the corner. Basically that's it.

“[Th✤e FIM Stewards] were very quick deciding things that don'𒐪t really matter. Like giving a long lap penalty to Quartararo fighting for 16th place. A guy who is second in the championship [Martin] and makes this kind of move into Turn 1, they don't do anything.

“I don't want to compare situations, but if you look at Jerez, what happened with me, completely different scena𓆉rios and different outcomes - but almost the same [type of incident].”

Vinales also felt there was little for the Stewards to discuss: “It ruined the race of many riders so it's clear that this is a penalty. Nothing el🎶se to add.

“I've been lucky to stay on the b𓆉ike, to don't have any [dꦿamage from] the hits.”

While Oliveira agreed not penalising Martin for the Marini incident wasꦬ correct, he raised the theory that Martin might have been charging h𓆏ard to mitigate the effect of an expected penalty for the Turn 1 move.

“I really feel sorry for Marini, bu𝔉t I don't see a reason t♎here to [penalise Martin for the pass at the chicane],” he said.

“I think in his mind may💮be he thought he would get a penalty for [Turn 1] and I think he just tried to push as much as he could to gain time in case he had the penalty, to not lose too much. I don't know if was like that. But I think that's what he thought.

“For sur💦e the Turn 1 incident is a long lap penalty,🐟 immediately. There's no discussion.”

Zarco: Stewards felt bad after “wrong decision in qualifying”

Martin’s team-mate Zarco even suggested the Spaniard was given leniency in the race due to the close track limits penalty that saw his best qualifying lap ca🅺ncelled, leaving him twelfth on the grid.

“The penalty they gave to him in qualifying was wrong⛎, because he was on the white line, he wasn’t on the green,” Zarco said. “Almost they feel bad to give a wrong penalty so they give extra care for the race. I have this feeling.

“The manoeuvre on Marini… was re🔯ally a racing incident. The first one, you start 12th and you exit Turn 1 in sixth, it means – okay, you did som🍰ething amazing, but also it was very optimistic.

“But I think they were feeling bad because they al♋ready did a wrong decision in qualifying.”

Quartararo: I thought I deserved the long lap, not now

Quartararo meanwhile, having initially felt he deserved the long lap for the Savaܫdori contact, later changed his mind.

“Before looking at the images, I felt I deserved the long lap. But looking at the images, I feel I don't deserve it🌱, but you know it's not my job♋," he said.

“It's strange because I thought when I touched him, he crashed. But I touched him and then h🔜e looked the other way around. So automa🍰tically when you are leaning on the right and you look on the left it’s... Strange. So he didn't really crash off my contact.

"But it's diff🃏icult. My job is just to ride at my 100%. When you are struggling that much to overtake. I had to find a way to pass and it was the only way. So, you k൩now, it happens.”

Quartararo finished 16th after the🍨 long lap, while Bastianini recovered to 13th and Vinales 8th.