London, Nov 30(ANI): The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has confirmed there is no case to answer with regard to a move made by the newly crowned world champion Sebastian Vettel on Jean-Eric Vergne during Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Questions were raised on Wednesday as video footage appeared to indicate Vettel passed Vergne on lap four in a yellow-flag zone between turns three and four at Interlagos.
Ferrari confirmed on Thursday via their Twitter account, that they had written a letter to motor sport's governing body seeking clarification on the pass.
However, the FIA, as well as the race director Charlie Whiting, has since made it clear that the overtake was legitimate and that no action will be taken.
If the FIA had pursued the matter, and Vettel had been found guilty, there was the possibility of a retrospective drive-through penalty being applied that could have cost Vettel his world title.
Vettel finished sixth in Brazil on Sunday to claim a historic third drivers' title, the 25-year-old German ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by just three points.
However, if a penalty had been applied it would have resulted in 20 seconds being added to his elapsed race time, demoting him to eighth, which in turn would have seen him finish one point behind Alonso in the final standings.
However, the FIA has indicated that Vettel did nothing wrong as a green flag was waved at a marshal's post on the straight shortly after turn three.
"If the lights are not installed at a flag post the driver responds to the first signal that is shown," the Guardian quoted Whiting, as saying to a German publication.
"In Vettel's case, between the last yellow light and the green light there was a green flag being waved. The distance is 350 metres here. Vettel responded to the flag and did everything right," he added.
As a matter of protocol, as Ferrari wrote to the FIA, the latter are in turn formally required to respond. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
