Okay, so we have an official answer now (@lemon might have let the cat out of the bag a little bit!)….
OVERALL VIEW
The Stewards have convened and reviewed the video evidence posted by @MadDogMolloy and @ljkobrien with regards to the appeal over the 10 second penalties given to @mrgrieves and @MadDogMolloy on Lap 2 of the Hungarian GP.
The considerations taken into account were numerous, and as follows:
1) Was an unfair advantage gained by @MadDogMolloy or @mrgrieves in passing off the track?
2) Was there space to pass Lt Alfred without leaving the track?
3) Was it reasonable for them to have been able to avoid incident whilst retaining the racing line, and remaining on track?
4) Was the action taken dangerous?
5) Would this have been a penalty in real life?
Separate to this, we also wanted to consider whether we are setting a precedent for appeals on penalties of this nature….
The consensus on the above was as follows:
1) @MadDogMolloy and @mrgrieves did not gain places that they otherwise wouldn’t have, by leaving the track,.
2) There was definitely no space for @mrgrieves and whilst there was arguably space for @MadDogMolloy, this is at a very fast part of the circuit so the chances to react were reduced compared with if a reaction was being made at a chicane.
3) Because of the speed of the corner it was unreasonable to expect either @mrgrieves or @MadDogMolloy to take avoiding action AND retain the racing line.
4) It was not dangerous to pass in the fashion that they did.
5) We don’t believe there would be a penalty in a real life similar situation. You wouldn’t want to penalize someone who obviously was simply trying to avoid an accident or else drivers would be attempting to squeeze by even closer to say, a spun car to avoid leaving track and receiving a penalty.
Are we setting a Precedent? It’s important to qualify the risk of precedent – here’s the key points…
• We all know that the game is horrible with its penalties, particularly for stuff like Corner Cutting, and Illegal overtakes and so on. However, we’re all aware of this fact and need to drive accordingly.
• We don’t want to end up in a scenario whereby people are appealing everything and the whole thing gets very convoluted and contentious.
• With regards illegal overtaking, if you pass a car that has spun and have to go off track to avoid them, this is not definitely going to be deserving of a penalty. Therefore, if you have video evidence to back this up, an appeal can be made and unless you have obtained an unfair advantage over other competitors, most likely would be upheld.
• Different, however is the case where you have different closing speeds and pass off the track, a la Vettel on Button @ Hockenheim . If the game penalizes you for one of these occurrences, then this potentially still stand as a penalty unless you let the car back passed and then of course provide video evidence of this.
THE VERDICT
The panel are all in agreement that in this instance, the 10 second penalties for @MadDogMolloy and @mrgrieves should be overturned. I don’t know exactly the impact of this, but believe that potentially @MadDogMolloy and @mrgrieves would both gain a place, and @ljkobrien would be restored back to 6th place as it finished on the track.
Hopefully the above seems clear and fair, and of course if there are any disagreements here, please feel free!
Many thanks,
Hungary Driver Stewards Panel !!
