McLaren's bid to overturn Oscar Piastri's track limits penalty in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix has been rejected by the FIA stewards who have deemed the protest as “inadmissible”.
McLaren argued that the deletion of Piastri's fastest lap in Q3, which would have placed the Aussie third on Sunday’s grid, was unfair, citing a lack of conclusive evidence.
The team specifically challenged the clarity of the footage used by the stewards to make their decision.
They argued that blurry images from a trackside camera and a helicopter, potentially obscured by shadows, were insufficient to definitively prove that Piastri had exceeded track limits at the Red Bull Ring’s Turn 6.
“Our approach to racing is we don't want what we don't deserve,” explained McLaren team boss Andrea Stella.
“But when the penalty is so harsh, then in the interest of sport - it's not in the interest of McLaren - there needs to be clear evidence.”
Unfortunately for McLaren, the stewards never reached the stage of evaluating their own evidence and opted to dismiss the team’s formal complaint on procedural grounds.
FIA emphasized that in accordance with the International Sporting Code, decisions made by the race stewards are final and cannot be appealed. This regulation aims to ensure the stewards' authority on the track remains unchallenged.
Secondly, the FIA pointed out specific flaws within the protest document itself. For instance, the document was addressed to the Clerk of the Course, who oversees the race logistics, rather than the Chairperson of the Stewards, who holds the power to review penalties.
Additionally, the document failed to mention the specific regulations McLaren believed were violated by the penalty, who the protest was directed against (likely the stewards), and what specific aspects of the penalty decision McLaren contested.
“We wanted to look at the evidence whereby the car was beyond the track limits beyond any reasonable doubt,” added a visibly unhappy Stella. “I cannot say that the beyond reasonable doubt is satisfied.”
“In this case, it's just everything blurred and affected by the shadow.
“It's quite a lot to come here, compete, put together qualifying laps, and when the penalty is so severe, like having the lap deleted, then we need to make sure that the penalty is enforced beyond any reasonable doubt.”
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