'Clear breach of regulations' - FIA reject Ferrari claims over Red Bull pit exit after 'disappointing' Monaco Grand Prix
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Updated 29/05/2022 at 20:32 GMT
With wet weather and controversy, it was an unusually dramatic trip for Formula One to Monaco on Sunday. The Grand Prix was won by Red Bull's Sergio Perez, but Ferrari's team head Matteo Binotto complained both Perez and his teammate Max Verstappen had broken a rule by crossing a pit lane marking, and wanted the FIA to act.
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Ferrari team principal Matteo Binotto's complaints over Red Bull drivers Max Verstappe and Sergio Perez were rejeted by the FIA.
Both Red Bull drivers, championship leader Max Verstappen and race winner Sergio Perez, seemed to touch the lines when they left the pits during the race.
With the tight nature of the Monaco circuit any small advantage can make an outsized difference on the race result.
Speaking after the end of the race, Binotto said he was disappointed by the result for Charles Leclerc, who started as heavy favourite in pole position.
"Certainly disappointing, I think for the result,” he began.
"I fully understand the disappointment for Charles as well, he was first and finishing fourth means that something was wrong in the decision we made.
"So clearly we need to review it and I think we underestimated the speed of the intermediate at that stage and so we could have called a lap earlier for Charles or later on, maybe we should have left him outside on the extreme wet then going on the dry.
"These are mistakes that may happen but more importantly it is a lesson to learn to try and understand why they happened and I am sure that is a process we will do it.”
Discussing the Red Bulls, he said: "As Ferrari, we are disappointed because we believe there was a clear breach of regulations on the two Red Bull going on the yellow line exiting the pit.
"I think it was not close, it was on the line and if you look at the intonation of the sporting code it is saying crossing but we had a clarification in Turkey 2020 to avoid any discussions and if you look at the race driver notes it indicates staying to the right.
"So, being on the line is breaching the race director notes and I think each single team has a duty and a task to follow the race director notes.
"So for us that is something unclear and we are still seeking clarification from the FIA and we will be happy to have as soon as possible our feedback."
However after the the FIA were contacted, they confirmed that Perez, "did not have any part of its front or rear tyres on the left of the yellow line.'
For Verstappen, the governening body said: "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.
"Accordingly the driver did not breach the relevant section of the code and this takes precedent over any interpretation of the notes [from the race director]. The protest is therefore dismissed."
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