FIA reject Ferrari protests against Red Bull’s 1-3 Monaco Grand Prix result

Red Bull have retained their first and third-place finishes in Monaco, with Ferrari’s protests against the two cars thrown out by the FIA.

The FIA opted not to uphold Ferrari’s protests of the two Red Bull drivers after the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Scuderia lodged two separate protests after the chequered flag, one against race winner Sergio Perez and one against third-place finisher Max Verstappen. This was after both drivers had touched the yellow line delineating the pit exit while peeling back out onto the track – the rules state drivers cannot cross that line.

With the Race Director’s notes for Monaco clarifying drivers “must stay to the right of the line”, Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto confirmed his team would seek clarity from the FIA as a result – and the governing body confirmed the protests shortly afterwards.

Red Bull’s Jonathan Wheatley, Ferrari’s Inaki Rueda and FIA Race Director Eduardo Freitas met with the stewards at 19:15 local time in order to address the situation and, after a two-hour deliberation, a decision was made to not uphold the protests.

The verdict from the stewards was that the protests were rejected on the grounds they are “unfounded”.

The stewards’ explanation for the decision was that the wording of the Sporting Regulations is that at the pit exit, a car “must not cross” the line. The Race Director’s notes do not take priority over the Regulations, meaning the stipulation of remaining to the right of the line is not required.

As Verstappen and Perez had touched the line but did not cross it, the stewards ruled they had not breached the relevant section of the regulations.