Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says his team's Sunday night protests were not targeted at Red Bull, despite seeking punishments that could have seen Sergio Perez robbed of his race win. Binotto felt that both Perez and teammate Max Verstappen were in breach of the Race Director's notes when they touched the yellow line on pit exit, following mid-race pit-stops. Perez used the pit-stop phase to pass both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and take the lead of the race, but Ferrari felt that his return to the track was illegal. However, following a lengthy investigation by the FIA, it was decided that neither driver would be punished, with Perez allowed to keep hold of his historic race win.
Binotto: It was not a protest against Red Bull
Binotto says the protest was not an attempt to see Red Bull punished, with the Ferrari boss claiming that he was simply seeking confirmation regarding pit exit rules. "We filed the protests because we think it's right to get clarification. The intent of the protest isn't really a protest against Red Bull itself, but the aim is primarily a search for clarification on a topic that is very important to us," he told the media, including RacingNews365.com . "We believe that both Red Bull drivers drove on the yellow line when exiting the pit lane. In the past, this was always penalised with a five-second penalty."
Stewards did not agree with Ferrari verdict
After a meeting between the stewards and team representatives, neither Verstappen nor Perez were punished. Both incidents were examined individually, with all parties agreeing that Perez had not touched the yellow line on pit exit, while Verstappen had. However, referring to the Sporting Code, the stewards deemed that Verstappen would have needed to have placed an entire wheel over the yellow line in order to be punished, which he was deemed to have not.
Most read
