F1 News
Will the results of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix be reversed?
- GPblog.com
Kimi Raikkonen lost his ninth place in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix two weeks ago to a 30-second time penalty handed out by the FIA after the race. He was penalised for not starting from the pit lane after a spin on the warm-up lap before the restart. Alfa Romeo still does not agree.
And that is understandable. The rules regarding this specific incident are not clear. Normally, a restart is done from a standing position on the grip. In that case it would not be strange to let Raikkonen start from the pit lane.
In Imola, however, the stewards decided at the last minute (during the warm-up lap) to opt for a rolling start, similar to a standard safety car situation. After a spin behind the safety car a driver is allowed to join the back of the grid and that is what Raikkonen did.
Race control was too late with the lights
Alfa Romeo were not sure about the safety car at the time and asked the stewards what they should do. They had no time to answer this question, so they let Raikkonen drive on.
It wasn't until after the race that the stewards, led by Michael Masi, announced that Raikkonen should have started from the pit lane after all because it was a restart. The rolling start therefore caused confusion and because Alfa Romeo were not informed in time. Under the guise of 'new evidence' the team is now asking the FIA if they want to review Raikkonen's penalty. Motorsport.com reports that they will meet on Saturday after qualifying.