FIA Commissioners again the target of criticism! We want consistent decision-making, says Haas

After the US GP, two protests landed on the International Automobile Federation’s table. Haas complained that two damaged cars were allowed to race.

This is a perfectly understandable protest from Haas. Their driver, Kevin Magnussen, has been forced by race management to stop and repair his VF-22 three times already this year. Each time it was a loose front wing component.

Sergio Pérez was in a similar situation in Austin. On the opening lap, he crashed into Valtteri Bottas’ car and damaged his front wing side end plate. It flew off his car until lap six, when it came off completely.

In addition to the Mexican driver, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was also the target of protests. His rear-view mirror came loose after a collision with Lance Stroll. It too fell off the monopost after a few laps.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said that the protests were not aimed at the drivers, but at the race management. “It’s all about consistency. The FIA is the referee and the referee has to be consistent in his decisions.”

” I understand that they are concerned about the safety of the drivers. But I was consistently shown the black and orange flag three times, so it’s frustrating to see other cars being allowed to race with loose parts today. I really don’t understand that.”

“Every time, it has ruined a race for me when I had a great chance to win. Those points would have played a huge role in the Constructors’ Cup,” added the Danish driver.

Alonso retrospectively penalised, Pérez not guilty of breaking the rules

“When a car is missing a rear-view mirror and the rules clearly state that a car must have two mirrors, you can’t just make excuses for an accident because one fell off. You have to have two mirrors,” Steiner commented on the Alonso incident.

The Spanish racer was eventually penalised after the race due to protests. The stewards deemed that his car was not in a safe condition and slapped him with a ten-second stop-and-gopenalty.

This would have required the driver to go to pit lane, stand still for 10 seconds while no work was allowed on his monopost, before returning to the track. This penalty was eventually converted to 30 seconds to Alonso’s overall time. He thus dropped from seventh place to fifteenth.

Alpine appealed the decision of the commissioners. Haas said the original protest should not be valid as it was lodged 24 minutes after the time limit for protests had expired.

Pérez avoided the penalty. Race management judged that his monocoque was in safe condition after a plated component came loose. He finished the race in fourth place with the damaged wing.

Source: Motorsport.com