The winner in Australia was placed within the limits of his box in the second restart and the referees allowed it
In full podium ceremony, as happened in Saudi Arabia with Fernando Alonso, images and more images and more images. A new controversy. max verstappen, the winner of the race in Australia, the leader of the World Championship, was badly placed in the second restart, the last one, which took place with only two laps to go. The photographs of the fans in Albert Park proved it, the television replays corroborated it, but the stewards of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) did not investigate it. why?
For a few minutes, the possibility of a penalty was considered. With a five second penalty, the defending champion would fall to eighth position, lewis hamilton the winner would be proclaimed and Alonso would rise to second place. But the option of a punishment was quickly ruled out. And curiously, the most interested team, Mercedes, made it public.
As revealed by the head of the English team, Toto WolffBefore the end of the race, they asked the FIA about that strange position of Verstappen, the stewards studied the evidence and ruled out that he had left the regulations. The Red Bull’s wheels touched the front white line and that saved the Dutchman. He would only have been penalized if his car had been a few centimeters ahead, that is, outside the white line.
The decision seems sensible, but it surprised locals and strangers due to the precedents. in Bahrain Esteban Ocon he was penalized for being placed slightly to the left. In Saudi Arabia, exactly the same thing happened to Alonso. Neither of them took advantage of his position, but both took a five-second penalty.
Until this Sunday in Australia, the yellow line that is usually painted next to each starting box was supposed to be the reference. Ah, at that height, the pilots must stop and if they do so later on they expose themselves to punishment. But from now on, with Verstappen’s place at the Albert Park circuit, all the participants will try to speed up by positioning their cars on the white lines, a few centimeters beyond the historic yellow line.
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