Alfa Romeo to appeal Raikkonen, Giovinazzi German GP penalties
Alfa Romeo Racing team principal Frederic Vasseur has confirmed the squad will appeal the post-race time penalties given to Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi which dropped both drivers out of the points places at the German Grand Prix.
The Alfa Romeo drivers were both hit with 30-second time penalties for breaking F1 rules over clutch parameters during the start of the German race - effectively losing the team a haul of 10 points.
Alfa Romeo Racing team principal Frederic Vasseur has confirmed the squad will appeal the post-race time penalties given to Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi which dropped both drivers out of the points places at the German Grand Prix.
The Alfa Romeo drivers were both hit with 30-second time penalties for breaking F1 rules over clutch parameters during the start of the German race - effectively losing the team a haul of 10 points.
An FIA Stewards investigation ruled the team was guilty of breaking the rules despite Alfa Romeo blaming the wet conditions and “a dysfunction of the clutch” and converted a 10-second stop-and-go penalty to a 30-second post-race penalty which sees Raikkonen and Giovinazzi drop to 12th and 13th respectively in the final classification.
Alfa Romeo boss Vasseur confirmed the team will appeal the penalty once it investigates the issue further to provide new evidence to defend its case to the FIA.
“It is extremely disappointing to have both cars penalised 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.”
The penalties promote Lewis Hamilton into ninth place to see him extend his F1 world drivers’ championship lead by two points, while Robert Kubica moved up to 10th place to secure the first point of 2019 for Williams.
