The Austrian Grand Prix stewards will review the decision to hit Sergio Pérez with a five-place grid penalty for this weekend’s race, after Force India successfully petitioned for the ruling given at the Canadian Grand Prix to be reviewed.
Pérez was hit with the grid drop after he was found responsible for causing a collision with Williams’ Felipe Massa as the pair diced for fourth place at the start of the final lap of the race. The pair made contact when Massa tried to overtake Pérez, causing both to slide into the Turn 1 barriers at high speed.
Both Force India and Pérez were staunchly vocal in their opposition to the ruling once it was handed down – briefly triggering a verbal stoush with those from the Williams camp – and have subsequently written to the FIA, claiming to have unearthed ‘new elements’ of evidence that it believes should be reviewed.
“We believe we have enough evidence to prove that I did nothing wrong,” Pérez told reporters on Thursday.
The FIA has agreed to hear the matter, scheduling a special hearing between itself, Pérez and Force India, which will take place at the Red Bull Ring at 9:00am local time (GMT +2) on Friday “in order to determine whether or not a new element exists”.
Should the stewards decide that Force India’s claim of new evidence has merit, a follow-up hearing – which would extend the invitation to Massa and members of the Williams team – will be held at 4:00pm local time that afternoon.
Image via Sutton Images
Richard Bailey
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