Ferrari, could they sink any lower?

Ferrari have written to the FIA asking for official clarification of whether the German's overtake of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne was legitimate.

On LAP 4 you wankers;

Anyway, the FIA have told them, quite rightly, to piss off as there is no case to answer.

Hard to imagine how much lower the Ferrari management can sink, I know that if I won a Ferrari in a car draw, it would be up for sale the next day.

Why Vettel's pass was legal
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, November 29th 2012, 11:45 GMT

Formula 1 fans, the media and Ferrari themselves have pored over YouTube clips from the Brazilian Grand Prix that appeared to show Sebastian Vettel overtaking Jean-Eric Verge before the end of a yellow flag zone on lap four.

Yet although this short video was enough to prompt Ferrari to ask for clarification about the matter, detailed analysis of the incident by high level sources shows that the Red Bull driver was entirely within the regulations - and that there are no grounds for further investigation.

An FIA spokesman confirmed to AUTOSPORT that during the race itself there had been no report from a marshal about any overtaking under yellow flags, as would most likely have happened if a breach of the regulations had taken place.

Furthermore, an in-depth look of the warning lights and marshal's post set-up at the Interlagos circuit showed that Vettel's pass took place after he had passed a green flag.

Although the 'yellow' sector itself starts at a light panel just before Turn 3, and ends about 150m before Turn 4, the light panels are a supplement to the traditional flags and are rarely in the same location.

With the use of lights, due to increased visibility, the track can be divided up into fewer sectors as line-of-sight is not always needed between them. At Interlagos, there were 22 marshals' posts while the FIA installed 16 light panels, which means there was overlap in places. The warning lights are also linked to the display in the cockpit.

According to high level FIA sources, the light panel that was showing yellow for Pastor Maldonado's stricken Williams was shown 100 metres before the next marshal post, which was located near the exit of the pitlane.

At this marshal's post a green flag was being waved on lap four - at the same time as the light signal at Turn Four was displaying green.

The separation of these two posts was about 350 metres and FIA race director Charlie Whiting has made it clear to drivers since lights were introduced more than five years ago that when there are consecutive signals from both a flag and a light, it is the first one that counts.

Vettel had to charge back through the tail-endersSo if, for example, a yellow flag is displayed followed later by a yellow light, then the no overtaking area begins at the first yellow signal which would be the flag.

So, as happened in the Vettel case, if a driver is given a green warning flag followed by a green warning light, it is the first green that counts.

Vettel's pass took place after the first green flag but before the green light, so was wholly legitimate.

This was why race control was not informed of any potential infringement and the matter was never subject to a post-race inquiry by the stewards.


Domenicali: Ferrari never wanted to diminish Vettel's title triumph
By David S. de Castro and Pablo Elizalde Friday, November 30th 2012, 17:23 GMT

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has denied his team's intention was to diminish Sebastian Vettel's championship victory when asking for clarification on the German's pass in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Ferrari wrote a letter to the FIA asking for clarification on the move after footage from the race appeared to indicate he may have overtaken Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Verne under yellow flag conditions.

The team received the clarification from the FIA and said on Friday that it considered the matter closed.

Domenicali said on Friday it was his team's duty to ask for clarification, but made it clear it was not Ferrari's intention to cast a shadow over Vettel's third title.

"I believe it was the duty of our team to make sure that the championship finishes in the best way possible, for the interest of the championship and for the interest of the team and our drivers," said Domenicali during a press conference in Madrid.

"It was our duty to ask for a clarification to the FIA to understand what was the thing that was circulating on the web, without trying to diminish the victory of the driver who has won the title.

"But with the approach of seeking clarity and trying to understand what was the video that was on television. It was nothing more than that.

"So it was a very rational and very correct approach from Ferrari to make sure that we understood. We have received the clarification from the FIA, so we have taken notice of their position.

The Italian insisted the team has now moved on and is already focusing on giving Fernando Alonso a car to win the title next season.

"As I said, there's nothing to say apart from the fact that we look ahead," he said. "We need to look ahead and these things will give us more spirit to look for the start of next season.

"I believe Fernando deserved this title and we need to make sure that Fernando will be able to win the title next year."

Stefano Domenicali Sebastian Vettel BrazilDomenicali also said his team will always do whatever is necessary to ensure everyone abides by the rules.

"I think that there were a lot of polemics, not only this year but also in the past," he added.

"This is part of F1, and not only F1. If we don't as sportsmen follow the principle that the FIA has the duty to make sure that everyone is compliant with the regulations and we don't believe in it, it is better to do another job.

"Of course when we speak about regulations we speak about something that is always on the limit, the limit is very thin and sometimes difficult.

"What I can guarantee looking ahead, is that DannyBoy will never win one of our cars, and we will make sure that if we see something we will use our formalities to make sure that our rights are totally protected."

Wow, Stefano actually spoke about Dannyboy!!!

For the public it's very confusing especially when there is video clearly showing an overtake under yellow conditions and they don't have intimate knowledge of the regulations.

I think it's fine for Ferrari to ask for a clarification - the situation itself shouldn't occur where there are conflicting messages (yellow lights, yellow dashboard lights on Vettel's car and he is overtaking due to the green flag which is not visible in the footage).

SkyF1 were confused themselves over the Kobayashi incident with McNish saying after some analysis that he passed under yellow. So if it confuses the professionals, what hope do the public have.

If Ferrari had actually protested then that's a different story and I would disagree with that course of action. But a clarification, that's fine. I wouldn't have made it public though.