Ferrari to protest Vettel for overtaking under yellow flags?

[Kewee]

Ferrari didn't ask for a review of the pass, they simply asked for clarification which is quite different. It's not unusual for a team to ask for clarification of a ruling rather than lodging a protest, they do so simply for future reference should a similar event happen again in the future, so I don't think they've embarrassed themselves at all.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Asking for a "clarification" is simply a subtle way of suggesting that a rule was broken.

@Jez - Maybe. I was never terribly fussed with this incident anyway, as I stated on several occasions that it was TR/JEV that created all the confusion in the first place. I really only ventured into it because I have the relevant data that can be hard to find.

 

[sportsman]

As an aside what does this do to Vetel moving to Ferrari in 2014? Has Alonso just won here - Ferrari protest, either Vettel looses the WDC or doesn't but either way relationships can't be improved from the whole thing?

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_media/articles/brazil2012/Pages/sunday-4.aspx With three titles under his belt, Vettel was asked if the next challenge would be to win a title with another team but the champion insisted he was happy with the Red Bull Racing.

“I have a contract until the end of 2014. I'm very happy with what we have achieved so far and I don't think this story is over yet,” he said. “I'm very happy and extremely committed to give everything I have, also in the next years when I'm with them. At the moment, I don't see any point thinking about another team or something else. I'm extremely happy in the position I am.

 

[mnmracer]

pirateplunder
Race control listens to the marshalls, not the other way around. Only in extraordinary circumstances might they ask the marshalls to give certain signals, but the marshalls are at the heart of the action, with the best overview of the situation. They can best judge the situation.

For the record, this is not my opinion, but the way things work, at least at the Zandvoort track, including during big events like Masters of Formula 3 and DTM.

 

[Dowot]

Enjoy reading but never know enough to add anything, except, I thought that there was a yellow telltale showing on the dash, which replicated the state of warning lights?
But then I know so little, just enjoy the battle and skill of all the drivers.

 

[KekeTheKing]

You seem to have grasped it Dowot. There were Yellow Caution lights being displayed inside the cockpit during the position change in dispute. However, we all know it's much easier to recognize a green flag waving off the circuit being driven past at 190 MPH than it is to see the lights inside your own car.

 

[mnmracer]

Care to tell me which direction he is looking at?

 

[KekeTheKing]

If the camera was centered on the car, you may have a point. However, we know it's not. The perspective is naturally skewed.

You're living in a fantasy land if you think you can say for certain that Seb is looking directly at the flag. Where is that pesky flag anyway?

 

[sushifiesta]

It's of no consequence whatsoever whether he was or wasn't looking at the flag, all that matters if the flag was there and we're 90% sure it's green.

On a separate point, some people have blamed the marshal for putting the wrong flag out. The next light after that marshal is green so the flag he is waving is perfectly consistent with the lights.

 

[Wombcat]

So they already know there was a green flag being waved then? So presumably that's the end of it?

I bet it's not. Even a few years from now, there will always be people who will discuss the decision.

 

[Wombcat]

If the camera was centered on the car, you may have a point. However, we know it's not. The perspective is naturally skewed.

You're living in a fantasy land if you think you can say for certain that Seb is looking directly at the flag. Where is that pesky flag anyway?

I don't have to point my head directly towards the things I want to see.

 

[Jos the Boss]

 

[Kewee]

Asking for a "clarification" is simply a subtle way of suggesting that a rule was broken.

Or an equally subtle way of making sure a rule was NOT broken.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Sour grapes. They should have built a faster car. They got pretty much everything else right but their car wasn't fast enough. It would be smarter of them to accept that it is the reason, for the most part, why Alonso finished in the runners up position. If they turn their full attentions to that instead of jumping up and down like sore losers then they might find themselves in better shape next year. Pathetic and cringe-worthy display of Prima donna macho posturing.

Proverbially, Ferrari are cutting their noses off to site their own faces, flogging a dead horse, barking up the wrong tree, pissing in the wind, bashing the bishop... errr, hang on!!! That last one isn't right. Basically, they are just making public arses of themselves.

 

[Wombcat]

I think it's perfectly acceptable that a team protests if they believe a rule is broken, especially if it's a rule like the yellowflagrule.

I also think that it's better that the FIA take a clear stand in this than that it would have lingered on.

 

[mnmracer]

The tip of his helmet, which (in his helmet type) is aligned with his eyes looking forward, is pointed towards the marshall post. Centred on the car or not doesn't matter, you just follow the straight line of the thingy on top.

It was already a long shot to assume it was a complete coincidence the green flag came out just when Vettel wanted to overtake, but looking at the footage, you really have to stretch your imagination to say it is more likely to be a coincidence than one of the 24 best drivers in the world, who are trained to be highly perceptive of these kind of things, was aware of the track conditions.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I don't think it's not acceptable. I just think it smells a bit. Whatever happens, no action should be taken which would alter the championship result. It's the motivation of trying to change the result, if that is the case, which I find a bit distasteful.

 

[Wombcat]

Why would action not be taken? If the RBR was too light, wouldn't Vettel be DSQ? If they had illegal fuel wouldn't he be DSQ? If he tested positive after a drug test, wouldn't he be DSQ? All infringments whose punishment would have altered the result.

You could argue that in-race actions would not be appliccable for appeal, but then they'd have to write so in the rules. Since the rules leave the option for protest open, protest is possible and raceresults aren't final until protest isn't possible anymore.

 

[The Artist.....]

Wombcat
At the last race, when a post-race disqualification would lead to a change in champion, the FIA has always been loath to do anything - since this would relegate the racing to a mere shambles! Essentially, it does give teams more or less carte blanche to do illegal things in the last race, but this is the world we live in!

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I actually added to my post that I would take a different view on mechanical illegality. I chickened out though, because I know it's a bit of a double standard and so I deleted it. For once, I'm a little lost to find a way to express my reasoning but in pure contradiction, I take a different view to mechanical illegalities which imply a premeditation to deceive and a racing incident which happens in the heat of the moment and should be dealt with as swiftly or not at all.