The F1 Commission have agreed to evaluate deposit fees for ‘protests, appeals, and right of reviews’ in wake of Red Bull’s protest against George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix.
In a meeting on 22nd July, the F1 Commission discussed the introduction of a fee for investigations and adjustment of existing fees. They also discussed expanding the circumstances where the FIA might require fees for protests.
The ‘Right to Review’ exists for teams and drivers to appeal penalty decisions if they feel it was incorrect. However, under current regulations the price of filing a protest is €2,000. George Russell labelled this cost as “not even a consideration” for a Formula 1 team.
Red Bull protest in Canada
Red Bull lodged a post-race protest against Russell in Montreal for alleged ‘erratic’ driving under the safety car. The Mercedes driver braked to keep temperature in his brakes and tyres, causing Verstappen to briefly overtake him.
The stewards penalised neither driver for the incident, nor did they uphold the protest. It only delayed confirmation of the final race result- Russell’s victory over Verstappen- for over five hours. Interestingly, this was not the first time this season that the Milton Keynes based team lodged a protest specifically aimed at Russell.
Russell’s view
The British driver said at the time that a ‘six-figure sum’ should be required for such protests to deter teams from making claims that are clearly unlikely to be upheld.
“When you look at the financial penalties for using swear words in the heat of the moment, or touching a rear wing, €2,000 for a team making nine-figure profits is not even going to touch the side.
“If it was a six-figure sum to be put down, maybe they would think twice about it. And you do get your money back if you win a protest, so it is basically your own risk.”
He added about the situation that weekend that it was “pretty clear” there was not going to be any penalty.
“It was nothing, and it all came from Red Bull, as opposed to Max. I don’t think he was even aware of the protests. It was pretty clear that there was not going to be any penalty. My personal view is that they wanted to go and be offensive to protect Max in case he got a penalty for going ahead of me during the safety car incident.
“My personal view is that it was just a bit of a faff and not really necessary.”
FIA statement
The FIA made a media statement following the F1 Commission meeting:
“It was agreed that the deposit fees for protests, appeals and right of reviews should be evaluated with a view to those fees being adjusted. The introduction of a fee for investigations was also discussed.”
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis and Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali chaired the third meeting of the season, which took place in London on 22nd July. The F1 Commission is responsible for overseeing the regulations and development of the F1 Championship within the FIA.
