Thursday, August 12, 2021
Aston Martin gives up protest
Vettel now finally loses the podium
Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line in second place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but was disqualified a few hours later. Aston Martin is still convinced that there is enough fuel in the Formula 1 car – but is now withdrawing its protest.
Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin team has withdrawn its appeal against the disqualification of the German Formula 1 driver after the Hungarian race. The advantages of a hearing before an appeals court are not great enough, the racing team justified its decision to give up the rather hopeless fight in the matter. Previously, after deliberations on Monday, the race stewards announced that they would refuse to roll up the procedure. Aston Martin has not been able to provide the necessary new “significant evidence”, it said.
The reason for the subsequent exclusion of Vettel, who unexpectedly took second place behind the surprise winner Esteban Ocon (Alpine) in Budapest, was the insufficient amount of fuel in the Hessian car after crossing the finish line. According to the Technical Delegate, only 0.3 liters could be removed. But at least one liter is required.
Aston Martin continues to insist that a faulty gasoline system was the cause of the problem. The team had argued that, according to their data, there must have been significantly more than a liter of fuel in the car. The team claimed that the “new evidence” of this was also recognized in the stewards’ judgment. Nevertheless, it was concluded that they did not want to pursue the objection any further.
As a result of Vettel’s subsequent disqualification, Lewis Hamilton, who was third in the Mercedes, moved up to second place. The seven-time world champion from Great Britain is now eight points ahead of Max Verstappen from Red Bull in the overall standings. The Dutchman retired through no fault of his own as a result of a massive braking by Hamilton team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the first corner and, as before at Silverstone, remained without points.
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