NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Red Bull has no case to answer over Vettel pass

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, says that Red Bull Racing has no case to answer over Sebastian Vettel's pass of Jean-Eric Vergne during the Brazilian GP. The pass became controversial after YouTube footage appeared to show that Vettel had passed the Toro Rosso under yellow flag conditions. By Tony Dodgins (@TonyDodgins)

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, says that Red Bull Racing has no case to answer over Sebastian Vettel's pass of Jean-Eric Vergne during the Brazilian GP. The pass became controversial after YouTube footage appeared to show that Vettel had passed the Toro Rosso under yellow flag conditions.

Ferrari, on Wednesday night, was believed to be assessing the footage before deciding whether to take further action, with the sport's statutes allowing an additional five days post-event for new evidence to be considered after an event's results have been made official. The team is now believed to have requested a clarification from the FIA.

The issue exploded into headline news when it was realised that a retrospective time penalty, if applied, stood to relegate Vettel from sixth to eighth, giving Fernando Alonso the world championship by a single point.

The footage was available to those with interactive facility from Vettel's in-car camera but was not widely seen. The questionable pass occurred at the beginning of lap 4, at a time when footage from the FOM world feed was showing replays of first lap incidents.

The Vettel in-car camera shows the Red Bull passing Vergne despite his dashboard lights indicating a yellow flag situation and before he passes a green light signalling the end of the hazard.

However, between the exit of Turn 3 and Vettel passing the Toro Rosso, there is understood to have been a waved green flag at a marshal's post, confirmed by the FIA, which takes precedence over the dashoboard lights system, meaning that Vettel was at liberty to pass the Toro Rosso before he reached the green light, and is therefore in the clear.