The FIA has rejected a protest by Ferrari against the two Red Bulls driven by Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen at the Formula 1 race in Monaco. This leaves the result of the race, which Pérez 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 should have driven over the yellow line when exiting the pit lane. According to the regulations, this is forbidden and will result in a penalty.
After his pit stop on lap 22, Verstappen got back on the track just ahead of Leclerc. In an aggressive attempt to stay in front of him, Verstappen came dangerously close to the yellow line with a cross. According to the onboard images, it was not possible to determine whether he actually exceeded this limit.
While it looked like he had at least touched the line, the view distorts how close the wheels got to the line. At least no investigation was initially initiated, so Verstappen remained unpunished.
The Dutchman even admitted that he was particularly aggressive on the exit to stay ahead of Leclerc. “Otherwise he would have overtaken me because I didn’t have the traction. My pit exit was probably the part of the race that I enjoyed the most,” he says.
Commissioners confirm Red Bull’s view
After the race, Ferrari protested – also against Serio Pérez, who is said to have had the same mishap. “As Ferrari, we are disappointed because we think that the two Red Bulls clearly broke the rules because they crossed the yellow line when exiting the pits,” team boss Mattia Binotto told Sky.
“I think it wasn’t close. He was on the line and if you look at the wording of the regulations, he crossed the line,” emphasizes the Italian. “Race instructions say you have to stay to the right of it. So touching the line is a violation of the rules. And each team has a duty to obey the orders of the race director.”
However, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is of the opinion that Verstappen was within the permitted framework: “In all the recordings that we saw, we followed the rules,” he says.
The commissioners confirmed Red Bull’s view and, following a hearing with the two sporting directors Jonathan Wheatley (Red Bull) and Inaki Rueda (Ferrari) and race director Eduardo Freitas, did not impose a penalty.
The accusation against Pérez was dropped by Ferrari as unfounded anyway, but Verstappen was with his two left tires on and partly to the left of the line. But because he was still mostly on the line and didn’t cross it, the Dutchman was acquitted.