Many fans were puzzled when they saw the Red Bull crew celebrating on the pit wall fence as Sergio Perez took the chequered flag. Pit wall celebrations and climbing atop fences came under the FIA’s scrutiny during the Australian GP.
Fans demanded the team be disqualified from the race for not following FIA’s guidelines. Yet the team wasn’t reprimanded for their actions. The Austrian outfit was allowed to hold on to their win and faced no charges. The team also evaded investigation by the stewards after the race.
This got many fans questioning the legitimacy of the rules and if the FIA was lenient in enforcing the rules and penalties when Red Bull was guilty of breaking them.
Why wasn’t Red Bull disqualified for Pit wall celebrations?
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen delivered the 3rd 1-2 finish of the season for Red Bull at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP. However, fans noticed many Red Bull team personnel celebrating in the pit wall fence as Checo took the chequered flag.
According to Appendix H, Article 2.3.2 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, “It is forbidden for team personnel to climb on pit wall fences during celebrations. Any action by a team breaching this ban will be reported to the stewards. If found guilty, the person could be banned from attending future F1 races.”
Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz explained a loophole that allowed Red Bull to celebrate without facing the consequences as long as the members celebrating at the pit wall had their feet on the ground. Team members will still be allowed to lean out of the gaps in fencing to show pit boards to the driver.
F1 Twitter blames FIA for corruption
F1 fans raged on Twitter after Red Bull escaped their pit wall celebrations without notice. Some fans do not believe all the team personnel had their feet on the ground. This meant Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen should be disqualified with the victory passive down to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
A user, ‘mercedesxrma’, pointed out FIA’s lapse in enforcing its ruling. While ‘Khurtizz’ retweeted a post claiming it’s understandable that Red Bull got away with the foul.
‘F1Womble’ believes the FIA have made a mockery of themselves if they do not punish the Austrian team. To which ‘cescbenjamin’ accused the team of bribery to get away with the penalty.
The FIA has already come under fire for filing for the penultimate lap incident involving Esteban Ocon. Race Organisers had started closing the pitlane and were prepping the podium while the Frenchman came in at lap 50 for his mandatory pitstop. Photographers narrowly avoided an accident with the incoming Alpine car.
