In response to Nico Rosberg’s ten-second time penalty which dropped him down to the bottom step of the podium for violation of the FIA’s new team radio regulations, Mercedes has filed an appeal in an effort to have Rosberg’s result reinstated. However, a rule inside of the FIA regulations technically forbids Mercedes from filing an appeal.
During the closing stages of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Nico Rosberg began to suffer from gearbox issues which meant that he had issues when using seventh gear. In order to prevent Rosberg from losing time or being forced to retire the car, the Mercedes engineers used the team radio to walk Rosberg through how to repair the issue. Following a post-race investigation, the FIA determined that Mercedes were in violation of the new radio clampdown regulations to prevent driver coaching and they handed Rosberg a ten-second time penalty. This means that Rosberg has dropped down from P2 to P3 and loses vital points for the World Championship.
Immediately following the steward’s decision, Mercedes filed an appeal to get the penalty revoked and Rosberg’s race result reinstated. However, they may not be allowed to appeal the penalty, thanks to a regulation within the Formula One rulebook.
According to article 38.3 of the 2016 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations published on April 20, “If any of the six penalties above are imposed they shall not be subject to appeal.” The regulation is referring to the penalties described in paragraphs A through F in article 38.3. These penalties include five-second or ten-second time penalties or any other time penalty enforced by the stewards, as well as drive-through penalties, ten second stop-and-go penalties and driver reprimands.
Only the remaining three types of penalties listed in article 38.3 may be appealed by the teams. These include grid penalties for the next event, driver suspensions for the next event and exclusions from the results. Since Nico Rosberg’s penalty is one of the six types included in the list that cannot be appealed, Mercedes technically does not have the right to appeal the race stewards’ decision.
Whether the FIA will honor this regulation has yet to be confirmed, but if they choose to enforce the regulations which they created, then Mercedes’ appeal will be denied and Rosberg will remain in P3 for the race results in the British Grand Prix.
Rosberg Demoted To Third In British Grand Prix
Weekend Summary: 2016 British Grand Prix
