Scuderia submit 'right of review' challenge against decision to penalise Sebastian Vettel at Canadian GP; Stewards to now determine whether case should be reopened
Tuesday 18 June 2019 11:57, UK
Ferrari are continuing to challenge Sebastian Vettel's race-losing Canadian GP penalty after confirming they have formally asked for the decision to be reviewed.
Teams can request a 'right of review' if they present the stewards with 'significant and relevant' new evidence which was unavailable at the time of the ruling.
Ferrari have not elaborated on the substance behind their move, only confirming they have lodged the request with F1's governing body.
Under the terms of the FIA's International Sporting Code, 'the stewards shall have the sole discretion to determine if a significant and relevant new element exists' ahead of any full review hearing.
Vettel was handed a five-second time penalty during the Montreal race on June 9 after stewards ruled he had returned to the circuit unsafely and forced Lewis Hamilton off the track, after running wide on lap 48. The German took the chequered flag first, but was relegated to second behind the Mercedes driver once his penalty was applied.
Vettel immediately raged against the decision on team radio, with his anger prompting extraordinary post-race scenes, while team boss Mattia Binotto later made clear: "There was no intention in what [Vettel] did at all. He was still ahead and tried to keep his position on track, as simple as that.
"The crowd have their opinion today and not only the crowd, whoever you may ask. We are really disappointed what happened and there have been very similar situations in the past as well that have not been judged as today."
The F1 season reconvenes in France this weekend, with the continued fallout from the events of Canada set to dominate at least the early part of the event.
Sky Sports F1 is airing an extended hour-long edition of Welcome to the Weekend at 5pm on Thursday, and across digital platforms, live from the Paul Ricard paddock to discuss the latest opinion and fallout from Canada.
What is a 'review' and what happens now?
Although time penalties cannot specifically be appealed under F1's bespoke sporting regulations, Ferrari have now turned to the overarching International Sporting Code which governs all FIA championships to make their case against the stewards' Montreal decision.
Article 14 of the Code allows for a 'right of review' if the affected party can present stewards with fresh evidence which was not available at the time of the judgement.
The regulation states that can be brought 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'.
But it is at the stewards' discretion whether the so-called evidence fits the above criteria and the case should be reopened. The same stewards who made the original decision will normally be called on to assess the new submissions.
"The stewards shall have the sole discretion to determine if a significant and relevant new element exists," read the regulations.
"The decision of the stewards as to whether or not such an element exists is not subject to appeal before the national court of appeal or the International Court of Appeal."
Should a formal reviewed be called, the regulations add: "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."
Last season, Williams requested a right of review against the decision by stewards in Azerbaijan to award Sergey Sirotkin a grid penalty for the Spanish GP.
The stewards' panel from Baku reconvened via teleconference ahead of the Barcelona race to hear Williams' evidence, but deemed that the submissions did not warrant a full review and threw out the case.
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