Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto accused Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez of breaching the FIA’s sporting regulations after Sunday’s hugely eventful Monaco Grand Prix. Perez took the chequered flag in Monte-Carlo at the end of a shortened race that failed to reach the full distance of 78 laps after a series of lengthy delays and unexpected twists.
The Mexican driver managed to keep Carlos Sainz at bay during the closing stages of the contest after pole-sitter Charles Leclerc was denied victory at his home Grand Prix due to an unfortunate pit-stop mix-up prior to the second red flag of the afternoon. Binotto insisted after the race that Red Bull should have been punished for a breach of the rules, though, as a result of Verstappen and Perez having touched the line at the exit of the pit lane after stopping for new tyres.
“We are disappointed because we believe there was a clear breach of regulations on the two Red Bulls going on the yellow line exiting the pit,” Binotto told Sky Sports F1.
“I think it was not close, it was on the line. If you look at the intonation of the sporting code it is saying crossing, but we had a clarification in Turkey in 2020 to avoid any discussions and if you look at the race driver notes it indicates staying to the right.
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“So, being on the line is breaching the race director notes and I think each single team has a duty and a task to follow the race director notes. So for us, that is something unclear and we are still seeking clarification from the FIA and we will be happy to have as soon as possible our feedback.”
It remains to be seen whether Ferrari’s protests will see any prospective changes made to the final result of the Monaco Grand Prix if Red Bull are deemed by the FIA to have broken any rules over the coming hours and days. Binotto went on to declare that Ferrari will be looking to review their own decision-making process ahead of their next outing in Baku after Leclerc was pegged back as he and Sainz pitted for new tyres on the streets of Monte-Carlo.
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“I fully understand the disappointment for Charles,” said the Ferrari boss. “He was first and finishing fourth means that something was wrong in the decision we made.
“So clearly we need to review it and I think we underestimated the speed of the intermediate [tyres] at that stage, so we could have called a lap earlier for Charles or later on, maybe we should have left him outside on the extreme wet then going on the dry.
“These are mistakes that may happen, but more importantly it is a lesson to learn to try and understand why they happened and I am sure that is a process we will do.”
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