Jun.19 (GMM) The FIA could rule within hours on Ferrari’s request for a “review” of the time penalty that cost Sebastian Vettel victory in Canada.
The review is believed to now be in the hands of the French GP stewards at Paul Ricard, who will connect with the Montreal stewards by video conference.
Sources suggest the ‘new evidence’ presented by Ferrari as the basis for the review request is footage from Vettel’s backwards-facing cockpit camera.
Another piece of new evidence could be comparisons of his normal racing line trajectory through the corner in the laps prior to the mistake.
In truth, Ferrari has a bigger problem than the lost Vettel victory — the 2019 car.
Boss Mattia Binotto thinks the form boost in Montreal was circuit specific, even though Mercedes’ Toto Wolff is expecting “another tough fight” this weekend in Paul Ricard.
Binotto says there will be some new parts for the red car in France.
But he warned: “What we will be bringing won’t be the solution to our problems. But the technical feedback we get from these evolutions will be important for the next steps we take.”
There are also reports of further restructuring behind the scenes at Ferrari, with Stephen Boyd, Maurizio Tomasselli, Hermann Wolche, Francois Dejoyeaux and Nigel Rupert-Nuttling all supposedly arriving to reinforce the team.
“I especially needed technical support,” Binotto is quoted as saying.
“It’s true that we have a couple of people at home and at the track to help manage the team, simply because the team is more important than the individual.”