A miserable weekend in Brazil looked to have cost Lewis Hamilton in his battle with Sergio Perez, but that could be about to change.
Red Bull officials have been called before the stewards to address Haas’s right of review regarding the US Grand Prix. If the protest is upheld, Sergio Perez could lose by as much as eleven points in his matchup with Lewis Hamilton.
With the help of on-board cameras, the American team is currently trying to get the FIA to alter the results of the United States Grand Prix. The evidence suggests that multiple track limit violations in Texas occurred without punishment.
Track limits proved to be a point of contention for the drivers during the US Grand Prix weekend, but only Alex Albon of Williams faced consequences for them. There may be a sudden and significant change in this.
According to Haas, Albon deserved a further 15 five-second time penalties, while Perez as well as Logan Sargeant and Lance Stroll were also allegedly repeat offenders at the Circuit of the Americas.
The teams will now attend a hearing on Wednesday and if all of Haas’ proposed time penalties are applied, Nico Hulkenberg will move up to seventh in the finishing order. Perez, meanwhile will drop from 4th to 10th.
Sacrificing 11 World Championship points is something that Checo cannot afford to do with just two rounds remaining this season. Securing second in the standings is critical for his short-term future at Red Bull.
With Mercedes and Hamilton struggling in Brazil, Perez opened up a 32-point lead in the battle for second place, but losing 11 points from the United States GP would move the British driver back in touch with two races left to go.
However, there has been some opposition to Haas’s protests. “I think it makes no sense to revisit in hindsight because all competitors could have adapted what they did had you had information,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella stated.
As a result, you cannot, in retrospect, take action on this since it has an impact on your daily life. Therefore, in my opinion, Haas has the right to make that request.
However, I believe that what we really need to focus on is developing a more reliable method for establishing and enforcing track limits. However, we move on to the next event as soon as it has ended.