Monaco Grand Prix result stands as Ferrari protest over Sergio Perez win after Red Bull’s exit from pit lane is rejected

FERRARI boss Mattia Binotto has blasted the FIA after they turned down his team’s protests against both Red Bull drivers.

Binotto felt that both race-winner Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen had crossed the pitlane exit mid-race and launched an appeal after the race – which was eventually rejected three and a half hours later.

He said: “We are disappointed because there was a clear breach of regulations on the two Red Bulls for going on the yellow line exiting the pits.

“It was not close. He was on the line and if you look at the sporting code, the wording says crossing.”

Ferrari had thrown the Monaco Grand Prix result in doubt after protesting Perez and Verstappen’s pit lane exits.

The Red Bull pair recorded a 1-3 finish in the French race on Sunday.

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But Ferrari looked to shake things up by lodging a complaint with the FIA.

The Italians were unhappy with Perez and Verstappen’s exits from the pit lane.

The duo were claimed to have crossed the line early on Lap 23 to rejoin the race, instead of sticking to the right until the line ran out.

Perez and Verstappen were then summoned to the stewards.

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But the FIA threw out Ferrari’s claim, much to the annoyance of Binotto.

He said before the FIA’s decision: “We are disappointed because we believe there was a clear breach of regulations on the two Red Bull going on the yellow line exiting the pit.

“I think it was not close. It was on the line and if you look at the intonation of the sporting code it is saying crossing, but we had a clarification in Turkey 2020 to avoid any discussions and if you look at the race director notes it indicates staying to the right.

“So, being on the line is breaching the race director notes and I think each single team has a duty and a task to follow the race director notes.

“So for us, that is something unclear and we are still seeking clarification from the FIA and we will be happy to have as soon as possible our feedback.”

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc has lashed out at the Italian team after they ruined his chances of winning his home race.

Having taken pole the previous day, he was looking good until his team called him in for a second pitstop by MISTAKE.

It dropped him from first to fourth as he finished off the podium in a miserable day for the Monaco-born racer.

LECLERC BLASTS OWN TEAM

He said: “Let down is not the word, some mistakes can happen, but there have been too many mistakes.

“We cannot afford to do that, especially in the moment we are in now, when we are extremely strong, we need to take these opportunities – and it’s not even first to second, it’s first to fourth!”

Ferrari were left red-faced in the race after the pit-stop cock-up saw Leclerc relinquish top spot.

Leclerc started well despite the rainy conditions which unfortunately saw Mick Schumacher involved in a horror crash.

However the ace was called into the pits along with teammate Carlos Sainz in the 22nd lap.

But as Leclerc approached the turn-off, his race engineer started shouting “stay out, stay out!”

Yet it was too late and so the Ferrari star was forced into a stop.

Then, as Leclerc re-entered the race, he found himself passed by both Max Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.

Leclerc was far from happy, and blasted Ferrari’s terrible tactical decision on the radio.

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He was heard yelling: “Why?! What are you doing?!”

But it was too little, too late, with Leclerc’s own Ferrari teammate Sainz also moving ahead in the rankings.

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk