Breaking news

Formula 1 Austrian GP

Binotto: Ferrari won't appeal "wrong" Verstappen verdict

Ferrari will not appeal the outcome of the Formula 1 stewards' investigation into Max Verstappen's Austrian Grand Prix-winning move, despite believing the "wrong decision" was made.

Valentin Khorounzhiy

Edited: Jul 1, 2019, 2:52 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15

Red Bull driver Verstappen made contact with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc while overtaking him for the lead at Turn 3 on the 69th lap of the 71-lap event, and went on to take the chequered flag in first place.

But Leclerc felt his rival had broken the rules in forcing him off the track, and Verstappen's win remained provisional for several hours as stewards investigated the incident.

They ultimately reached a "no further action" verdict, ruling that neither driver was predominantly to blame for the clash.

Speaking as the verdict was being announced, Ferrari F1 team boss Mattia Binotto said the Italian outfit did not agree with the ruling, but also stated that it was looking to move on from the situation "to support the sport".

"What's Ferrari's opinion and position - we still believe this is a wrong decision, that's our own opinion, we believe that Charles left the entire space, he had no fault, a collision has happened and he has been pushed and forced off the track," Binotto explained.

"We believe these are clear rules, which we may appreciate or not, and these are exactly the same rules which have been applied in past races.

"Having said that, we respect fully the decision of the stewards, they are the judge and we need to respect that, and more than that I think that as a Ferrari fan - and I'm an ultimate Ferrari fan - I think it's time for F1 to turn the page and to look ahead.

"As we often said, we should leave the drivers free to battle, so we may not be happy of the decision, we are not supporting the decision but somehow we understand the fact that we need to move forward, and overall I think that's good for the sport and good for F1."

Read Also:

Ferrari was involved in a saga over Sebastian Vettel's Canadian Grand Prix penalty earlier this season, when the German lost victory to a controversial five-second penalty for rejoining the track unsafely.

The team initially notified the FIA of its intent to appeal the penalty, but then went the "right of review" route instead - only for the FIA stewards to dismiss its case two weeks later.

Asked this time whether Ferrari had any legal instruments to fight this latest stewards' decision, Binotto said: "There is. We can appeal. We may somehow have intention of appeal tonight, and [lodge an] appeal later on.

"But it's our decision not to do it, as I said, because we believe it's good for the sport."

Additional reporting by Roberto Chinchero

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Verstappen keeps Austrian GP victory

Next article FIA explains why Verstappen decision took so long

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

2 h

Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale

Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

3 h

Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale

Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

3 h

Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title

Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

4 h

Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix

Feature

Discover prime content

How Lando Norris prevailed in a swift errors tour of Interlagos

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Stuart Codling

How Lando Norris prevailed in a swift errors tour of Interlagos

"He really wanted it" – why Russell was furious over aborted Brazil ‘pole’ lap

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Stuart Codling

"He really wanted it" – why Russell was furious over aborted Brazil ‘pole’ lap

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Brazilian GP

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Brazilian GP

How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How F1’s rules got to be so complex

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts