Ferrari will not appeal the controversial penalty which cost Sebastian Vettel victory at the Canadian Grand Prix last Sunday.
Vettel crossed the line in first place in Canada but was penalised five seconds for an incident on lap 48, dropping him behind Lewis Hamilton in the final classification. After making a mistake in Turn 3 and cutting the apex at Turn 4, the race stewards judged that Vettel rejoined the track in a unsafe manner and forced Hamilton off the track.
Vettel was furious after the race and said the stewards were “blind” and had stolen victory from Ferrari. The decision was criticised by many former drivers, including Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansell, although 2016 Nico Rosberg defended the stewards in the aftermath.
F1 racing chief Ross Brawn insisted there had been nothing sinister behind the decision amidst accusations of Mercedes favouritism.
Ferrari lodged an intention to appeal the decision after the race on Sunday evening, effectively giving them 96 hours to formalise one. On Thursday it was confirmed the Italian team will not be following up on that specific action.
A spokesperson told ESPN: “We have withdrawn our intention to appeal and we are evaluating our right to review.”
A right to review must be formally submitted within 14 days of the incident, meaning the deadline to do so is June 23, the same day as the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard.
This is an option within the FIA’s Sporting Code, which gives teams an option post-event review of decisions providing new evidence is available.
According to Article 14.1.1: “[If] a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the Competition concerned, whether or not the stewards have already given a ruling, these stewards or, failing this, those designated by the FIA, must meet [in person or by other means] on a date agreed amongst themselves, summoning the party or parties concerned to hear any relevant explanations and to judge in the light of the facts and elements brought before them.”