With a successful protest after the Austrian Grand Prix, the Formula 1 racing team Aston Martin once again shook up the race results.
The reassessment by the race stewards did not change the victory of world champion Max Verstappen in front of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, but a total of eight drivers were given subsequent penalties.
Two of the beneficiaries of the successful protest are Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who each gained a position. Alonso is now fifth, Stroll ninth.
Aston Martin claimed in the protest that “a number of cars have not been penalized for violating Article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations.”
The drivers subsequently sanctioned included record world champion Lewis Hamilton (England/Mercedes) and the originally fourth-placed Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), who fell back to sixth place.
“Well over 1200 cases to review”
During the race, according to the FIA, the race management deleted more than 100 lap times in which drivers exceeded the white track markings in certain corners with the entire vehicle width. The FIA later said it was “reviewing well over 1,200 cases in which a vehicle was reported as potentially going off the track.”
The FIA imposed a five-second penalty for four violations and ten for five. The Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) received the largest penalty at 30 seconds.