02 April 2023 , 08:17
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Haas have been unsuccessful in their protest of the result of the Australian Grand Prix with team principal Guenther Steiner furious over the way the final restart of the race was handled.
They were angry that the restart after a huge five-car crash did not take into account the overtakes that had taken place during the few seconds that the race was live. Ted Kravitz confirmed on Sky Sports that he had been told that the team was launching a protest, before an FIA document later made this official.
After all, Nico Hulkenberg had avoided the chaos to move up to fourth place before the red flags began to fly. But, because the cars had not completed the first sector of the lap, the FIA had no reference point to use to decide who was in what position at the time.
So Hulkenberg was forced to start in eighth position instead. He finished seventh after Carlos Sainz's penalty to score good points for Haas, but that was apparently not enough to placate Steiner who was furious over missing out on an even bigger haul.
The protest was, however, unsuccessful. The rules indicate that the correct restart procedure seems to have been followed in this case, and it seems this move from Haas may have been little more than a 'Hail Mary' for the team trying to secure more points.
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Speaking on Sky Sports, Kravitz said: "Haas are going to give it a go to protest the result. They're questioning the FIA. They have to gain a P4 potentially if they manage to read the rules differently, so they're going to give the protest a go." He added that Steiner had told him personally that the team planned to protest.
He added: "I don't think they'll get anywhere, but it's worth them having a go." His colleague Karun Chandhok concurred that Haas are unlikely to get anything out of their protest in this case.
He said: "I know it worked out badly for Alpine, but I think the way they reset the race was fair. When you haven't crossed that first sector with the order jumbled up, all of a sudden you've pushed the Alfas and the McLarens up the order.
"I'm not sure that would have been the fairest conclusion there. So I think that's a satisfactory end."