Nearly two weeks after the conclusion of the USA GP in Texas, the race result has been called into question due to a protest filed by the Haas F1 team.
Max Verstappen emerged as the victor in the Austin race, with Lando Norris ultimately finishing second after Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification. Carlos Sainz also benefited from the disqualification to secure third place.
However, the Haas F1 team has raised concerns regarding the enforcement of track limits by race stewards. This has prompted the American racing team to request a review of the race result.
A total of 35 lap times were invalidated during the race, but only Alex Albon faced penalties for repeated track limit infringements. Reports surfaced after the race suggesting that the FIA had not been consistently monitoring track limits across the entire circuit.
For instance, Lando Norris admitted to not respecting the track limits at Turn 6 multiple times, as he believed that the stewards were not closely monitoring that section. Images on social media also showed Sergio Perez breaching the track limits at Turn 6.
The Haas F1 team has now formally submitted a request to reconsider the race results. Despite being late with their protest (teams have 14 days to file such requests, and the race was held 13 days ago), the American racing team managed to submit it on time.
The timing for processing the Haas F1 team’s request and the sufficiency of any new information provided will now be examined. The team undoubtedly hopes that any further penalties imposed could enable Nico Hulkenberg, who finished eleventh, to gain positions and secure points.
Aston Martin previously lodged a similar request after the Austrian GP, resulting in Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll moving up one place in the final standings. It remains to be seen whether the Haas F1 team’s protest will yield similar success.