Ferrari filed a protest against the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, but it was rejected by the commissioners
The FIA has rejected a protest by Ferrari against the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen in the Monaco Formula One race. This leaves the result of the race, which Perez won ahead of Carlos Sainz and Verstappen, untouched.
Ferrari had lodged a protest against Red Bull after the race because, according to the team, both drivers had crossed the yellow line when leaving the pit lane. However, according to the regulations, this is forbidden and results in a penalty.
Verstappen had rejoined the track just ahead of Leclerc after his pit stop on lap 22. In an aggressive attempt to stay in front of him, Verstappen got dangerously close to the yellow line with a lateral move. Whether or not he crossed it was impossible to accurately resolve after viewing the onboard images.
While it looked like he had at least touched the line, the view somewhat distorts how close the wheels came to the line. At least no investigation was initially launched, leaving Verstappen without a penalty.
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The Dutchman had even admitted that he had been particularly aggressive on the exit to stay ahead of Leclerc. “Otherwise he would have overtaken me because I wouldn’t have had the traction. My pit exit was probably the part in the race that I enjoyed the most,” he said.
Ferrari’s protest followed after the race – including against Serio Perez, who was said to have suffered the same mishap. “As Ferrari, we are disappointed because we think the two Red Bulls clearly broke the rules because they crossed the yellow line coming out of the pits,” team boss Mattia Binotto told ‘Sky’.
“I don’t think it was close. He was on the line and if you look at the wording of the regulations, he crossed the line,” the Italian insists. “In the race instructions it says you have to stay to the right of it. So touching the line is a violation of the rules. And every team has the duty to follow the race director’s instructions. “
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, believes Verstappen was within the permitted limit: “In all the footage we saw, we followed the rules,” he said.
The commissioners confirmed Red Bull’s view and imposed no penalty after a hearing with both sporting directors Jonathan Wheatley (Red Bull) and Inaki Rueda (Ferrari) and race director Eduardo Freitas.
The accusation against Perez was dropped by Ferrari as unfounded anyway, but Verstappen was on and partly off the left of the line with both his left tyres. But because he was still largely on the line and had not crossed it, the Dutchman was acquitted.
