Vettel’s case of an unjustified penalty in Montreal is not finished yet! Ferrari has requested a re-examination of Sebastian Vettel’s penalty at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
What makes this possible is the so-called “Right for Review” of article 14.1.1. part of the International Sporting Code.
It states that if Ferrari provides new evidence that proves Vettel’s innocence, the race stewards have to reopen the case for further investigation. This path has a higher chance of success than a formal protest against a factual decision.
Ferrari’s New Evidence
Already last week, Ferrari team principle Mattia Binotto confirmed:
“After studying all the images and data we have available, we are convinced that Sebastian didn’t do anything wrong. He made a mistake, but he just tried to get the car back on track. He went off the gas and drove the car safely back on the race track.”
Ferrari has time until the next Grand Prix in France this week (Le Castellet) to provide new evidence. Theoretically, the stewards in Le Castellet could then reassess the case. That don’t neccessarily have to be the ones from Canada. But first FIA has to approve the revision.
Our assessment at F1-Insider is that, if Ferrari didn’t have enough new evidence, team boss Binotto wouldn’t go through the whole ordeal to call on the stewards again.
Probably the Scuderia can prove that Vettel slowed down in the critical moments of being on grass and returning to the tracks again. Hence, “insecure return” wouldn’t apply to Vettel’s case.
An important aspect to consider is that Vettel left Lewis Hamilton enough space, unlike repeated claims of the contrary.
It’s also quite possible that Ferrari hopes for a different outcome due to the fact that the stewards in France will be different from the team in Canada. And don’t underestimate the fan’s reaction in this whole case. A large majority demanded more racing and expressed their views against a penalty rather clearly.
Official Canada Stewards
The German steward Gerd Ennser, who was part of the team of four stewards in Montreal alongside ex-Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro, commented recently:
“It could have been 10 or 20 seconds or a stop-go penalty,”
“The five second penalty is the least penalty for such an offense.”
Pirro added in an interview with FormulaPassion:
“As a fan of racing and of Ferrari in particular, I am sorry that the race ended like this.
“As you can well understand, it is not easy to take certain decisions but the sports’ integrity must come before everything else.”
He also emphasized:
“Today this is no longer the case, the world has changed, the races have changed,”
*This article was first published in German at autobild.de/motorsport.
