McLaren F1’s appeal is denied while Tsunoda faces a significant financial penalty.
McLaren has received the verdict on its appeal concerning the qualifying results for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Following an investigation, the stewards have decided to uphold the initial decision, meaning Oscar Piastri’s lap time will not be reinstated. Consequently, he will start Sunday’s race in seventh position.
The Woking-based team lodged the appeal after Piastri had his final lap at the Red Bull Ring deleted, moving him from third to seventh place.
The Australian driver reportedly exceeded track limits at turn 6, with race officials deleting his lap time—a decision the 23-year-old described as embarrassing in his post-session reaction.
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella told the media that he had sought further clarification from the FIA before the appeal was officially lodged.
The stewards’ decision document states: “The appeal is dismissed as it is inadmissible.”
The appeal was deemed invalid for three reasons:
— It was addressed to the race director and not to the chairman of the stewards (article 13.5.1 ISC)
— It did not specify any relevant regulation (article 13.4.1 ISC)
— It did not specify against whom the appeal was lodged (article 13.4.1 ISC)
As a result, “the appeal does not meet several of the criteria required for an appeal to be admissible,” according to the decision document, and was duly judged inadmissible. The team also forfeited their €2,000 deposit for filing the appeal.
Tsunoda penalised for his slur
Yuki Tsunoda has also learned the outcome of an investigation into his alleged use of discriminatory language during the Austrian Grand Prix qualifications.
The 24-year-old driver was found guilty of violating article 12.2.1.k of the FIA International Sporting Code.
The Japanese driver has been fined €40,000, with €20,000 suspended for the remainder of the 2024 season, provided no similar offence occurs.
The RB F1 driver was caught on the team radio saying “these guys are really retarded” about Guanyu Zhou who had overtaken him on the fast lane of the pits during Q1.
According to the official decision document, the stewards stated: “During Q1, while car 22 (Tsunoda) was queuing on the fast lane and another car inserted itself into the fast lane in front of him, the driver was heard making a statement on the team radio using offensive language.”
“During the hearing, the driver apologised and explained that as English is not his native language, he did not know until the end of the session what the words used in English meant.”
“He said he had been horrified when he learned this. He maintained that his understanding of the words was different, but acknowledged that this should not be seen as an excuse for what he had done.”
“The stewards appreciate the driver’s honesty but emphasize that the words used are offensive and entirely inappropriate. The fact that such words were used on a platform accessible to the public constitutes an offence as defined in article 20 of the International Sporting Code.”
“Given the circumstances, the stewards believe that a severe fine is necessary, but also take into account the driver’s genuine remorse and his offer to make a public apology and decide for these reasons to suspend part of the imposed fine.”
F1 Drama: Tsunoda Fined, Piastri Stays in 7th Spot. F1 Drama: Tsunoda Fined, Piastri Stays in 7th Spot
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