Sanctions: Pirro Justifies Himself to Vettel and Senna

As in the 2011 Italian Grand Prix, the tussle at Curva Grande between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso was one of the highlights of the race and perhaps even of the season. However, the off-track excursion that was forced upon the Spaniard’s F2012 was not to the liking of the panel of stewards, who imposed a drive-through penalty on the Red Bull driver. Emanuele Pirro, a driver steward this weekend, justified this sanction to the Italian site Omnicorse: After Bahrain, when Nico Rosberg forced Lewis Hamilton to pass him outside the track limits and then forced Alonso to lift off the accelerator, a regulatory clarification was drafted by the FIA that leaves no doubt. […] A driver in front can choose the trajectory he wants as long as the one following hasn’t slid a part of his car along the level of the rear wheels: in this case, the driver in front is obliged to leave enough space for the other to stay on the track. Therefore, the decision that penalized Vettel is fair: Alonso had much more than just the front wing at the level of the Red Bull’s wheels.

However, when asked after the race if he thought the penalty was fair, Sebastian Vettel responded in the negative: « From my point of view, no, but it’s not for me to judge. » For his part, even though he considers that « it’s unimportant after the retirement », Christian Horner shares his driver’s opinion: « Judge for yourself: it seems a bit harsh. It doesn’t seem to me to justify a penalty, but that’s just my opinion. »

Emanuele Pirro believes, however, that there is no need for controversy, especially when reminded that in a similar situation in 2011, Fernando Alonso was not troubled: “There is no discussion. Gary Connelly [member of the FIA, frequently retained as a steward] and I prepared a PowerPoint presentation that we showed to the drivers during a briefing after Bahrain, with many cars and different situations for them to check. The drivers therefore know how they should behave.” The Italian mentions that the Red Bull team argued that Sebastian Vettel did not expect an attack from Alonso at that moment, but he refuses to provide further comments on the matter.

The fact remains that a little earlier in the race, a seemingly similar accident occurred between Paul di Resta and Bruno Senna at the Roggia braking zone, with the Brazilian going onto the grass before taking the escape road. The Williams driver therefore believes, as reported in the columns of Autosport, that his Force India counterpart should have been penalized: « It was pretty clear. I had the front wing alongside his car and then, of course, the tires under braking, and he pushed me off the track. We touched. Fortunately, we didn’t swing at each other, but for me, a driver was suspended for a race for doing something similar to that, and even Vettel got a drive-through for pushing Alonso off track. It’s the stewards’ decision, so we respect it, but I don’t think what Paul [di Resta] did was correct. »