Uncertainty kicks in for Vettel and his 3rd title!
It's been nearly 72 hours since Sebastian Vettel clinched his 3rd historic title. Now, rumours and speculations cloud the minds of Adrian Newey, Christian Horner and Sebastian Vettel, as to if the 3rd title was meant to be forever. In the last 2 days, there have been video tapings of Vettel making 2 illegal moves. One on Kamui Kobayashi, and second on a Toro Rosso. The move on Kobayashi was cleared saying that it was the 'yellow-red' caution flag being waved and hence not illegal. Today morning, another video showed the 3 Time world champion (hopefully!) making another move, which apparently was illegal, on one of the Toro Rossos. Vettel made a pass under one of the yellow flag periods.
Ferrari have been given the time until 30th November to appeal and protest. But Ferrari have no intentions in doing so.
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Yet, there are few people suggesting its not illegal. If you do observe the video closely, you'll find that Vettel only started the move during a yellow flag period. But a move is considered a 'pass' only when its completed. Vettel may have made a move on Vergne, but the pass was completed exactly at the point when the green lights blinked. Vettel moved onto the left (yellow flag) --> He drove past his side pod (yellow flag)--> went past his front wing (yellow flag) --> caught the racing line (green flag).
He had to wait like 0.5 of a second or so, so that he could make the move stick and not cause a collision with Vergne's fronts and his rear.
Secondly, A flag Marshal in NZ, too confirmed that this move on Vergne was 100% legal and has justified it in his own words.
He quoted "The way that the Floppy Marker system works, is that say you have a sector on a straight. Flag Point 1, and Flag Point 2. Now, approximately half way between these points will be a Floppy Marker (It changes depending on the location of the flag points (FP) and Line of Sight etc.) If there is an incident between FP1 and FP2 that demands a Yellow Flag from FP1 and it is BEFORE the Floppy Marker, then the cars may overtake from the Floppy Marker onwards provided there is a Green Flag at FP2. If the Incident for the Yellow Flag is AFTER the Floppy Marker, then the cars may not overtake until the pass FP2.
Ferrari have been given the time until 30th November to appeal and protest. But Ferrari have no intentions in doing so.
Click Here for Analysis
Yet, there are few people suggesting its not illegal. If you do observe the video closely, you'll find that Vettel only started the move during a yellow flag period. But a move is considered a 'pass' only when its completed. Vettel may have made a move on Vergne, but the pass was completed exactly at the point when the green lights blinked. Vettel moved onto the left (yellow flag) --> He drove past his side pod (yellow flag)--> went past his front wing (yellow flag) --> caught the racing line (green flag).
He had to wait like 0.5 of a second or so, so that he could make the move stick and not cause a collision with Vergne's fronts and his rear.
Secondly, A flag Marshal in NZ, too confirmed that this move on Vergne was 100% legal and has justified it in his own words.
He quoted "The way that the Floppy Marker system works, is that say you have a sector on a straight. Flag Point 1, and Flag Point 2. Now, approximately half way between these points will be a Floppy Marker (It changes depending on the location of the flag points (FP) and Line of Sight etc.) If there is an incident between FP1 and FP2 that demands a Yellow Flag from FP1 and it is BEFORE the Floppy Marker, then the cars may overtake from the Floppy Marker onwards provided there is a Green Flag at FP2. If the Incident for the Yellow Flag is AFTER the Floppy Marker, then the cars may not overtake until the pass FP2.
Given that not only Vettel passes Toro Rosso AFTER the Floppy Marker between FP4 and FP5, I would call that pass 100% legal. You could also call into question the validity of the Yellow Flag at FP4, but that’s down to the lights operator down at FP4 and they may have been told to put the Yellow light on by Race Control or someone else."
In the end, the fact that Ferrari didn't file a protest, points to Vettel and RedBull having done enough to make sure that a penalty would not be given. Any notion that Ferrari would not like to be seen as is sour losers, or even hesitate at bringing controversy into this sport.Just have a look at all Ferrari's statements. For them, winning is priority over anything and everything else. Ferrari apparently did have the stewards to look at these 3 incidents. And as Nick Fry clearly confirmed, that any suspicious moves had been looked at, and there was no reason to protest.
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