MAY 13, 2001
BAR appeal Raikkonen fourth place
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING lost their protest against Sauber driver Kimi Raikkonen's fourth place finish in the Austrian Grand Prix, but have decided to appeal - leaving the result provisional for anything up to seven days.
BAR believe that Raikkonen illegally overtook Luciano Burti's Prost on lap 66 after Jenson Button had spun off in his Benetton, forcing marshals to wave yellow flags.
The FIA race stewards did not agree and ruled that the result should stand. But BAR are allowed to appeal and now have seven days to find fresh evidence.
If the FIA race stewards do change their mind after the appeal, it is likely that Raikkonen would be penalized 25-seconds and that would drop him to fifth and promote BAR's Olivier Panis to fourth.
Frenchman Panis, who was dropped from fourth to seventh in the Australian Grand Prix after a similar appeal from Sauber, was originally pleased with his result.
"I am very happy for the team and myself with the result and the two points are very important to us as we look to close the gap in the championship," said Panis before the appeal.
"I am happy with the progress we are making and we will be looking to make some improvements in Valencia testing next week as we prepare for the next round in Monaco."
Panis' team-mate Jacques Villeneuve is not likely to be affected by the appeal as he finished eighth and one lap down.
He said: "It's a good result for the team. A lot of cars did not get off the line but I had a reasonable start. The first two corners did not go well and I picked up a huge amount of push in the race and I don't know why."