Aston Martin protest upheld; Austrian Grand Prix results changed

Aston Martin’s protest against the official results of the Austrian Grand Prix has been upheld by the stewards, meaning the classification was changed.

Hours after the chequered flag at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, Aston Martin lodged an official protest against the results of the Austrian Grand Prix – the protest was upheld by the stewards.

“The protest claims that a number of cars were not penalised for a breach of Article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations,” read the information from the stewards, referring to track limits violations, meaning Aston Martin believe that not every driver was penalised that should have been for track limits violations.

Stewards confirm the reason for Aston Martin Austrian GP protest

Following the lodging of the protest, the stewards confirmed the lodging of a protest by Aston Martin, and carried out a hearing at 18:30 Austrian time.

“The Stewards, having become aware of the existence of a number of deleted laps (due to exceeding track limits) that were drawn to our attention after the receipt of the protest, have requested Race Control to perform a reconciliation of all deleted laps with penalties applied,” read the investigation documentation.

“We note that Race Control dealt with in excess of 100 deleted laps during the race.”

Seven drivers were penalised for exceeding track limits, being hit with five-second time penalties as a consequence.

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After the hearing, the stewards confirmed the protest filed by Aston Martin had been upheld, with up to 1,200 track limits violations scrutinised as penalties loomed for several drivers.

“The Stewards determined that, as it was lodged on time and complied with the requirements of Chapter 13 of the FIA International Sporting Code, it was an admissible protest,” said the stewards.

“An examination of the list of deleted lap times provided to the Stewards by Race Control, revealed that a number of track limit infringements had not previously been referred to the Stewards for potential penalty. It was determined that some of these infringements warranted a penalty that was not previously applied when the Provisional Classification was published.

“These penalties will be reflected in the Final Classification.”

Where did the Aston Martins finish in the Austrian Grand Prix?

Several hours after the protest was upheld, the stewards announced several more time penalties had been handed out, changing the final classification. Fourth-place finisher Carlos Sainz was the highest-placed driver to be hit with a penalty, dropping him to sixth, while George Russell moved ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton as the seven-time World Champion was penalised.

Further down the order, Pierre Gasly also dropped behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, meaning the protest netted the Silverstone-based team a further three points with Alonso classified fifth, and Stroll ninth – both moving up a place as a result of penalties for others.

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