La soap opera dedicated to the finishing order of the US GP, triggered by Haas, would seem to have reached the final act. The FIA has issued its final verdict regarding the appeal lodged by Haas regarding the classification of the United States Grand Prix in Austin. The American team had raised objections regarding the alleged violation of track limits by some rivals during the race. However, the request was rejected by the FIA. In fact, through a press release, the federation announced that the material brought by Haas relating to the request for review for alleged violation of the track limits is not decisive as it does not constitute any new element compared to the data already in possession of the federation. No further meetings will be needed. The FIA's decision therefore confirmed the ranking of the US GP, thus putting an end to the controversy raised by Haas.
The FIA rejects the Haas appeal: the reasons
Let's go in order. Haas, during the Brazilian GP, announced that it had made a request to the FIA to reopen the file relating to the order of arrival of the US GP, held on October 22 in Austin. The team led on the track by Guenther Steiner asked for the review of several track limits when cornering 6. According to the American team, in fact, the race directors did not report several track limits, which involved respectively Perez, Albon, Sargeant (who had scored his first points of the season) e Stroll.
To exercise the right of review it is necessary to present new evidence, which was not already available to the FIA. The College of Commissioners therefore rejected the request as the elements presented were not considered new and significant for the purposes of the decision. Although Haas had presented images of the onboard cameras of the cars involved, this evidence was not considered sufficient to justify a change in the ranking. The commissioners highlighted that crucial elements such as relevance, novelty and availability of use were missing at the time of the original decision. The material provided by Haas was also available on the day of the race, when the provisional ranking was released.
After listening to Haas again in a meeting held this afternoon FIA communicated the following: “The elements presented they are not new and significant and in any case they were already available at the material time. As such they should have been presented within the time limits set by the Sports Regulations."
Lots of problems with track limits, the FIA intervenes
The problem of track limits is not new. The commissioners raised concerns about the complexity of managing track limits and called on the federation to take steps to address this issue next season. “Given the number of circuits where significant track limit issues have emerged this season, recognizing that the FIA, in collaboration with the circuits, has already made significant progress, further solutions should be found before the start of the 2024 season. ”
It now remains to be seen what measures the federation will adopt to more effectively manage the issue of track limits in future championship races.
