Formula 1: Ferrari still plan to challenge Sebastian Vettel’s win-stripping penalty

While Ferrari will not appeal the penalty that cost Sebastian Vettel his first victory of the 2019 Formula 1 season, they may still use “right of review” to challenge it.

The post-Canadian Grand Prix Sebastian Vettel penalty saga has taken another turn. After Scuderia Ferrari lodged their intent to appeal the five-second penalty that robbed the four-time Formula 1 champion of what would have been his first victory of the 2019 season in this race, they stated that they had appealed it.

Then earlier today, they stated that they had not appealed it and that they did not plan to do so.

However, the Italian team have now stated that they still plan to challenge this penalty using “right of review” as opposed to the formal appeal process.

Per the FIA International Sporting Code, competitors have an option for post-race review of decisions made during the races assuming that new evidence that was originally not available emerges.

Here is what Article 14.1.1 of this International Sporting Code states, according to Motorsport.

"“[If] a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the Competition concerned, whether or not the stewards have already given a ruling, these stewards or, failing this, those designated by the FIA, must meet (in person or by other means) on a date agreed amongst themselves, summoning the party or parties concerned to hear any relevant explanations and to judge in the light of the facts and elements brought before them.”"

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Whereas an appeal must be submitted within 96 hours from the time that the intent to appeal was made, the period during which a petition for review can occur is a full two weeks after the result in question, giving Ferrari until Sunday, June 23, the day of the season’s next race, the French Grand Prix, to gather more evidence.

Also according to Motorsport, a Ferrari spokesperson confirmed that the team are still working on collecting more evidence despite the fact that they have not confirmed whether or not they will actually go through with this “right of review” process. Here is what this spokesperson had to say about the matter.

"“We are still working on it and we are collecting more evidence.”"

Ferrari could still technically submit an appeal given the fact that their deadline to do so is later today, but that would just present yet another twist an already crazy post-race situation after they revealed earlier today that they would not be taking the appeal route.

The odds that Sebastian Vettel will be awarded the Canadian Grand Prix victory as opposed to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton, who was classified as the official race winner despite the fact that he crossed the finish line 1.342 seconds behind Vettel in second place, are still small even using “right of review”, but Ferrari’s decision to pursue the matter using this method as opposed to submitting an appeal certainly gives them a better chance to have this result overturned, which would give them their first victory of the 2019 Formula 1 season.