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Engineers pulled a fast one, but got caught.
Today Formula One was in court over what some may think is a trivial matter. The International Court of Appeal was deciding on whether Kimi Raikonnen and Antonio Giovinazzi 30 second post race penalty was justified or unfairly handed out by the FIA. The race happened on the 28th July in Germany at the Hockenheim track.
There were a few other interested parties listening in today as it effects quite a few teams. One driver losing 30 seconds moves other drivers up into possible point positions which all add up to some serious money at the end of the season.
Raikonnen finished in 7th and Giovinazzi in 8th spot so there were a few points on changing hands depending which way the verdict went. This doesn't just effect the drivers ,but also the battle going on between the constructors. The teams involved are not going to win the overall title but it could help them move up a position which in theory could be the difference in a few million Dollars in prize money.
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Hamilton finished 11th and Robet Kubica 12th and with Raikonnen and Giovinazzi being penalized it bought them into the points. This is more important for Williams as they obtained a point which is their only one so far this year. if the ruling had gone in favor of Alfa Romeo they would have changed the outlook on the bottom of the table. It wasn't surprising to see Red Bull,Renault,Haas,Racing Point and Mercedes attending then. Mercedes more for keeping a point for Hamilton and maintaining having scored a point or more in his last 27 races.
The judge agreed with the controlling body of Formula One (FIA) and the ruling stood. The Alfa team had a problem with the clutch on both of the cars and blame the time spent behind the safety car and the standing start. The car wasn't in the right condition to race and with any irregularities possibly should have been withdrawn for safety issues.
The FIA clearly states in it's rules that the driver must drive the car unaided and apparently both drivers received a clutch torque application at the start of the race. This setting mimmicks traction control which is not allowed for any standing start as it gives you an unfair advantage. This was uncovered two hours after the race by officials scanning through the data of every car. Raikonnen was 5th on the grid that day and managed to find himself in third place after the opening lap. Engineers are smart, but the race stewards are not dumb either and thankfully know what to look for in the data.
