Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen have retained their positions from the end of the Monaco Grand Prix following a protest from Ferrari.
Ferrari claimed that both Perez and Verstappen crossed the pit lane exit line when making pit stops during the race on Sunday.
Perez went on to win the grand prix ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, while championship leader Verstappen took the finish in third place.
The stewards stated that in Verstappen’s case: “All parties agreed that Car 1 did have part of its front left and rear left tyre on the left side of the yellow line.
“All parties agreed that most of the left front and left rear tyres of that car remained on the yellow line.”
Red Bull asserted that it hadn’t breached any part of the International Sporting Code, while the stewards clarified that Article 5 of Appendix L of the ISC had changed from 2021 to 2022.
Article 5 c) of Chapter IV of Appendix L of the Code says that at the pit exit a car “must not cross” the line, and in Verstappen’s case, it was found that he didn’t cross the line as to do so, he “would have needed to have a full wheel to the left of the yellow line.”
Ferrari also claimed that the rule breached the Race Director’s pre-event notes, however the stewards say the notes can’t contradict the ISC or the sporting regulations.
In the case of race-winner Perez, Ferrari conceded at the hearing that Perez didn’t cross the pit lane exit after making his pit stop.
Verstappen now leads the Drivers’ standings by nine points over Charles Leclerc, while Perez is third in the championship, 15 points down on his team-mate.
Keyword: Perez and Verstappen avoid penalty after Ferrari protest