Max Verstappen avoided a post-race penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix after the FIA rejected Ferrari’s protest over a possible pit exit infringement.
In Monte Carlo, the Red Bull driver finished third. Sergio Perez won the race, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finishing second.
It was a race in inclement weather. The race was delayed by the FIA after a power outage affected the start systems. This also required a rolling start at each interval, rather than the usual standing start.
Why Didn’t Max Verstappen Get A Pit Exit Penalty At The Monaco Grand Prix 2022
After the race started, Charles Leclerc was in front of Sainz, Verstappen, and Perez. However, because of the track, pit strategy was critical.
Verstappen, Perez, and Leclerc pitted for dries after switching from wet to intermediate tyres. Meanwhile, Sainz moved directly from the wet to the dry compound.
As a result, Perez now leads the race ahead of Sainz. After another red flag for a heavy crash involving Mick Schumacher, the Mexican led the field to the chequered flag for an emotional victory in Monaco.
However, the drama was far from over.
Ferrari is protesting Verstappen and Perez.
Ferrari decided to file a protest against Perez and Verstappen after the race. The reason was an alleged violation of pit exit procedure.
“We are disappointed,” Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports. “We believe there was a clear violation of regulations on the two Red Bulls for going on the yellow line exiting the pits.”
“I don’t think it was close. He was the one on the line. In addition, the wording in the sporting code says crossing.
“Then, to avoid any discussions, we had a clarification in Turkey in 2020, and if you look at the race driver notes, it says staying to the right.” So staying on the line is a violation of the race director’s instructions.”
The stewards dismissed the protest against Perez as “unfounded.” Ferrari also admitted that there was no part of Perez’s car to the left of the pit exit line.
They also rejected the protest against Verstappen, though the reasoning was a little more complicated.
Why wasn’t Max Verstappen penalised?
Max Verstappen’s car was extremely close to crossing the line, according to live broadcast footage from his wide T-cam. Most fans thought his left front tyre crossed the line.
It is worth noting that the FIA would have had numerous options for determining whether Ferrari’s protest would be successful. However, both Ferrari and Red Bull agreed during the meeting that Verstappen’s left tyre did cross the line.
So, why wasn’t he penalised?
There are two main reasons for this. The first is that the FIA’s sporting code was updated ahead of the 2022 season to reflect a new ruling on pit lane violations.
“Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards), any tyre of a car exiting the pit lane must not cross any line painted on the track at the pit exit to separate cars leaving the pit lane from those on the track,” it states.
Verstappen did not violate the sporting code because his entire tyre did not cross the line. However, if the offence occurred last season, when the rules stated that any part of a car must not cross the line, he would have been fined.
The other problem is a “contradiction” between the race director notes and the sporting code. Before the race, race director Eduardo Freitas sent a letter to all teams and drivers outlining the race rules.
However, the race director notes in this case were ‘cut and pasted’ from last year’s regulations, which did not reflect the pit exit rule change. Because the race director cannot override the sporting code, the protest was upheld, and Verstappen’s result was upheld.
ALSO READ: Winning IPL 2022 trophy is certainly a high point of my career, says Rashid Khan