The Aston Martin Formula 1 team is still weighing up whether to commit to a full appeal of Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification from the Hungarian Grand Prix, in the wake of its denied right of review.
Vettel lost his second place in the Hungarian GP after Aston Martin failed to provide a 1.0-litre fuel sample using the correct procedure and the team’s petition for a review of that decision was dismissed following a stewards’ hearing on Monday.
The FIA’s technical checks could only extract 0.3 litres from Vettel’s car and though Aston Martin initially contested that its estimates put the amount of fuel left in the tank at the end of the race at 1.44 litres, subsequent analysis has revealed a fuel system failure that meant more fuel was used than expected.
Analysis of “more than 100 channels of fuel system related data” concluded Vettel’s car suffered a fuel system failure that led to the air pump in the fuel cell activating a “maximum output” that used more fuel than expected.
The stewards accepted Aston Martin brought a new element with its analysis but ruled it fell short of being “significant and relevant” because the rules clearly state that one litre be obtained through the correct process and the reasons for failing to do that are irrelevant.
In terms of establishing a new fact, Aston Martin’s analysis did not prove that more than 1 litre of fuel was remaining but concluded that there was not enough in the tank for the sample.
The stewards thus concluded that Aston Martin’s right of review “must be denied for reasons of admissibility”.
Separately to the right of review, though, Aston Martin also initiated the appeal procedure that could allow it to lodge a full-scale case with the FIA International Court of Appeal.
Aston Martin is “now considering its position in respect of its outstanding appeal”, the team said in a statement.
“Sebastian drove brilliantly in Hungary and we are pleased to have been given the opportunity to show significant new evidence that we discovered since the race,” said team boss Otmar Szafnauer.
“We felt that the evidence we presented was relevant and demonstrated to the FIA that he should have been reinstated following his disqualification.
“Unfortunately, the FIA took a different view and, despite the fact that the accuracy of our new evidence was not contested, Sebastian’s disqualification has been upheld on the basis that the new evidence was not deemed ‘relevant’.
“That is disappointing, and we will now consider our position in respect of the full appeal process.”
