24/09/2019
NEWS STORY
The FIA's International Court of Appeal has rejected Alfa Romeo's appeal against the 30s time penalties handed to both its drivers at the German Grand Prix.
Though they finished 7th and 8th, Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, both drivers were subsequently handed 30s time penalties for a breach of the clutch regulations, and as a result were classified 12th and 13th, thereby promoting Lewis Hamilton to ninth and Robert Kubica to tenth.
The penalties related to the claim that both drivers had an advantage at the time of the wet standing start courtesy of the way their clutches were operated, namely that the clutch at the start did not match the torque demand as the driver released the clutch within the specified 70 millisecond maximum period. Indeed, the time was measured at approximately 200 milliseconds.
"The situation arose during the laps we spent behind the safety car ahead of the standing start," explained team boss, Frederic Vasseur, in the wake of the stewards decision, "we suffered a dysfunction of the clutch that was beyond our control."
The Italian (Swiss) team subsequently appeal the stewards decision, and the appeals was heard today by the FIA's International Court of Appeal.
The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, decided:
To declare the appeals not admissible.
To order the competent Sporting Authority to draw, as appropriate, the consequences of this ruling.