Image by Andre/LAT
Alfa Romeo to appeal German GP penalties
Alfa Romeo will appeal the time penalties handed out to both cars after the German Grand Prix, according to team principal Frederic Vasseur.
Both Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were demoted out of the points as a result of the torque being delivered by the clutch taking too long to match the torque being requested by the drivers at the start of the race. Only a small leeway is allowed in order to prevent teams using different settings to mimic the effects of traction control, and with both cars exceeding those limits the stewards handed out retrospective 10-second stop-and-go penalties -- converted to 30-second time penalties -- that cost Raikkonen seventh place and Giovinazzi eighth.
“It is extremely disappointing to have both cars penalized and pushed out of the points in what had been such an exciting race,” Vasseur said. “The situation arose during the laps we spent behind the Safety Car ahead of the standing start: we suffered a dysfunction of the clutch that was beyond our control and we will further investigate the issue.
“We respect the FIA’s process and the stewards’ work, but will appeal this decision as we believe we have the grounds and evidence to have it overturned. In this regard, we will be in touch with the FIA soon.
“Kimi and Antonio drove very well in challenging conditions and seventh and eighth place were the rightful reward for their performance. The team worked really hard to put both cars in the points and we showed once again that we have the pace to fight at the sharp end of the midfield. This race was a great showcase for Formula 1 and it’s a pity it ended this way.”
As it stands, the four drivers to benefit from the penalties are Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica in seventh to 10th respectively, with the latter scoring the first point of the season for Williams.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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