Ferrari asks for official review of Vettel penalty

Scuderia Ferrari has chosen to request a review of the five-second penalty which cost Sebastian Vettel victory in the Canadian Grand Prix.

The team withdrew its appeal shortly before the 96-hour deadline expired late last week but left open the option of pursuing the matter by a different means.

Formula 1 sporting regulations effectively prevented an appeal anyway, but Ferrari can request the review under the FIA’s International Sporting Code as long as there is “a significant and relevant new element” which was not available at the time of the decision, according to Article 14.1.1.

Ferrari has not stated publicly what that new information might be, with a spokesperson saying “Due to the sensitivity of the matter, we are not giving any further details,” according to the BBC.

Stewards, either those from Canada or a new panel if they are not available, would first need to determine if the evidence is indeed new before reviewing the decision itself.

Vettel had crossed the finish line at Montreal in the lead of the motor race but was officially classified in second position after it was decided in-race that he had rejoined the track in an unsafe manner when he ran through the grass at Turn 3 on Lap 48.

The sanction saw Lewis Hamilton inherit the win, his fifth of the season to date and Mercedes’ seventh from seven.

The review will likely be heard at the next grand prix, at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, on June 21-23.