After examining all the facts, the Sauber F1 Team has decided not to appeal against the verdict of the stewards following the Australian Grand Prix last Sunday. The two drivers Sergio Pérez and Kamui Kobayashi had crossed the finish line in Melbourne in seventh and eighth places respectively, but were subsequently excluded from the results.
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Sauber drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi have been disqualified from the Australian Grand Prix over a technical infringement.
Perez, making his grand prix debut, had finished in a strong seventh position, one place ahead of his Japanese team-mate Kobayashi.
After the race, however, the race stewards excluded both cars over the infringement of technical rules 3.10.1 and 3.10.2.
The infringement occurred in the uppermost rear wing element.
Article 3.10.1 reads: "Any bodywork more than 150mm behind the rear wheel centre line which is between 150mm and 730mm above the reference plane, and between 75mm and 355mm from the car centre line, must lie in an area when viewed from the side of the car that is situated between 150mm and 350mm behind the rear wheel centre line and between 300mm and 400mm above the reference plane. When viewed from the side of the car no longitudinal cross section may have more than one section in this area.
"Furthermore, no part of this section in contact with the external air stream may have a local concave radius of curvature smaller than 100mm.
"Once this section is defined, 'gurney' type trim tabs may be fitted to the trailing edge. When measured in any longitudinal cross section no dimension of any such trim tab may exceed 20mm."
3.10.2 states: "Other than the bodywork defined in Article 3.10.9, any bodywork behind a point lying 50mm forward of the rear wheel centre line which is more than 730mm above the reference plane, and less than 355mm from the car centre line, must lie in an area when viewed from the side of the car that is situated between the rear wheel centre line and a point 350mm behind it."
The exclusion of the Sauber drivers means Ferrari's Felipe Massa is elevated to seventh, ahead of Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi, and Force India duo Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta.
Just to make it clear and simple to everyone, would anyone like to volunteer to produce a diagram of a legal and non (or possiably what sauber where running) legal version. i for one have a vage idea in my mind and thanks myurr for breaking it down in laymans terms, but without having a great deal of expertise it would be simpler to "see" it.
It is REALLY bad luck though. Not only for Sauber as i really do admire them as a team and peter sauber for going back on his retirment idea to save a lot of peoples jobs. BUT also for the fans....
1st race cancelled....
2nd race manipulated by a rule the casuall viewer will not understand nor be interested.
3rd race ???? Its going to be another crash, spy, lie, scam, manipulate, infuriate season again.
The FIA has now brought the sport into disrepute! Whats there fine? I can see bernie being pissed (he wasnt at the race) as he will loose viewers as a result of this.. And viewers meen money. And why was the rear wing infringment not caught after qualy or even before 1st practice?
That is a shame.
My immediate thought was, why the hell weren't they excluded at least from the qualifying results? When was the last time the scrutineers missed something throughout the whole weekend only to find a clear breach of a technical rule after the race?
ESPImperium wrote:Controversy Creates Cash!!!
Thats all ill say.
I don't think any controversy around Sauber (with all due respect) wouldn't create anything.
My point exactly! People have watched the race...probably paid the extra to watch in HD...turned off..and wont know the true results untill they open the paper in the morning. Anything that changes the results after a race is bad. Think Hamilton in Spa!
I'm not sure because i'm thick, but i like to watch a race and KNOW the results at the finnish line. Not in the papers. I dont know maybe i'm talking crap but i do know that "dude" went out of fasion way back in the 90's and that seeing as Hamilton seams to have got away with a posiable breach of the regulations with the undertray maybe the FIA should look to see if the parts Sauber were running were acctually giving a perfomance advantage. I know rules are rules but it should have been picked up earlyer, especialy with Kamui in the top 10 in qualy.
If any mods dont want to take my post seriously there more than welcome to close the thread.
@Richied76
I strongly disagree. Rules are rules. Those should be the same for everyone. I was very happy with Sauber's performance in the race, but IMO, if they are really in breach, they only have themselves to blame.
Pandamasque wrote:@Richied76
I strongly disagree. Rules are rules. Those should be the same for everyone. I was very happy with Sauber's performance in the race, but IMO, if they are really in breach, they only have themselves to blame.
So you disagree that is should have been picked up sooner? you prefure the results that have happend? I would have rarther them be excluded from qualy. Had them start from the back and see them fight there way through with a legal car. I'm not making excuses for the illegal part. I'm making the point that more should be done by the FIA so that race results are not changed after the race.
It's those bloody regulations again- far too complicated and obfuscated.
Why on earth is it necessary to have a rule limiting the shape of a rear wing element? Sure, limit the size, but going on about curvature radius? Just stupid.
If the FIA are going to so tightly mandate what the rear wing can look like, then why not just make it one design....
And I'm with Richied on the scrutineering- dead easy to sort it out on thursday, or even do it at the pre season tests.
If the cars in parc-feme after qualy why not do it when? doing it after the race when everyone wants to pack up and get home is wasting everyones time. yes random checks should be enforced but the FIA spent Thousands on cameras to enforce the parc-feme rules in the garages so any tampering before the race would be next to imposiable....
After such things I have the nasty feeling that someone is manipulating the results for some secret reasons or interests.
Also I think that the fact that the wing element does not comply has been known before the race but the action postponed.
And I am not on drugs
I agree that it is baffling why the rules go so deep down to the curvature radius of the element.
F1PitRadio @F1PitRadio : MSC, "Sorry guys, there's not more in it"
Spa 2012