The FIA stewards have dismissed the protest submitted by Scuderia Ferrari against Red Bull Formula 1 drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen for two incidents in the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, which means that no changes take place regarding the final results on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Sergio Perez took his third Formula 1 race win earlier today in Monaco, after finishing in front of Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, while Max Verstappen secured third place in a chaotic first part of the race which was affected by rain and two red flags, as Ferrari was not able to capitalize on the P1 and P2 in qualifying.
However, the Maranello team lodged a post-race protest against both Red Bull cars for allegedly crossing the yellow line at pit exit, resulting in an investigation by the stewards. After a post-race hearing with both teams, the stewards dismissed Ferrari’s protest, meaning Red Bull’s win stands and the race result is now official.
Ferrari’s protest against Max Verstappen stated that the Dutchman put part of the left-front tyre over the yellow line at pit exit, breaching the pre-race event notes and citing Yuki Tsunoda’s breach at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix as a precedent. Red Bull defended Max Verstappen by explaining that the FB18 car was still on the right-hand side of the line, as required by the FIA’s International Sporting Code, claiming their driver did not breach the regulations.
The stewards agreed with Red Bull’s point of view, noting that Article 5 c) of Chapter IV of Appendix L of the ISC “stipulates that at the pit exit a car ‘must not cross’ the line. In this case, the car did not “cross” the line – to do so it would have needed to have a full wheel to the left of the yellow line,” the stewards felt – “Accordingly the driver did not breach the relevant section of the Code and this takes precedent over any interpretation of the notes. The protest is therefore dismissed and the protest Fee is forfeited.”
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During the hearing for the Sergio Perez incident, the stewards stated that “Ferrari conceded that Car 11 did not have any part of its front or rear tyres on the left of the yellow line” and “conceded that the Protest was unfounded”, resulting in the same dismissal.
The outcome of Ferrari’s protest means Sergio Perez keeps his Monaco Grand Prix win, while Scuderia Ferrari have to settle for Carlos Sainz’s second place and Charles Leclerc’s P4 in front of his home fans, after a race in which the Maranello team was outsmarted by Red Bull in terms of strategy decisions. As a result, Sergio Perez is now just 15 points behind Max Verstappen at the top of the drivers’ championship and only six shy of Charles Leclerc who remains in second place, after losing the lead in the previous round of the 2022 Formula One championship.
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