Scuderia Ferrari have decided not to appeal Sebastian Vettel’s penalty that cost the German driver victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel was handed a five-second penalty after running off track at Montreal on Sunday and coming back on in what the stewards deemed to be an unsafe manner.
Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has written to the FIA in order to inform them that the Italian side will not be lodging a challenge ahead of the deadline on Thursday morning. This is despite Ferrari having previously said the appeal had gone in.
Former world champion Nigel Mansell echoed the outrage of several ex-drivers by saying the stewards’ decision was ‘embarrassing’. But despite the fact that many former Formula One drivers criticized the decision of the stewards at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a positive outcome of the appeal was very unlikely, which determined the Maranello team to withdraw its appeal against the Sebastian Vettel penalty in Montreal, according to recent information from Motorsport-Magazin.
As such the result stands; Hamilton is the winner of the 2019 Canadian GP, his seventh P1 in Montreal. The Mercedes driver holds a 29-point advantage over his team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the race for the World title while Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is third, 62 points off the pace.
However, Ferrari have told Sky Sports they are ‘still working on putting together evidence’ over the incident. Any bespoke ‘appeal’ had to be formally lodged with the FIA by Thursday but the Press Association report Ferrari have now told F1’s governing body they won’t be going ahead with that process.
Ferrari have declined to confirm those reports.
They instead may wish to submit a ‘right of review’, which would mean they have 14 days after the final classification to provide new evidence that was not available at the time.
No appeal, but a review?
The FIA’s own International Sporting Code Article gives competitors an opportunity to submit post-race reviews.
Article 14.1.1 of the code states: “[If] a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the Competition concerned, whether or not the stewards have already given a ruling, these stewards or, failing this, those designated by the FIA, must meet (in person or by other means) on a date agreed amongst themselves, summoning the party or parties concerned to hear any relevant explanations and to judge in the light of the facts and elements brought before them.”
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