Raikkonen lost his P9 position after he had a spin behind the Safety Car at Turn 3 in Imola. This was just before the drivers were preparing for a rolling restart.
With the team unsure about what was going on, Raikkonen was unable to take his position before the first safety car line.
This glitch meant that Raikkonen had to restart the race from the pit lane which he wasn’t aware of. This led to him getting a 30-second penalty post-race.
Just after Raikkonen’s spin, Alfa Romeo asked for clarification from the race director but did not receive any response before the race resumed. The stewards acknowledged the confusion, but had to hand the mandatory penalty.
The regulations have been changed to avoid future mishaps. Alfa Romeo’s right to appeal has been deemed admissible due to the lack of information available during that time.
The FIA said, “Subsequent to the decision and as part of this present hearing, the Stewards have discovered that the specific cases that they referred to were not following a Red Flag.
“While this was only one element among many considered by the stewards, this information was unavailable to the competitor at the time of the original decision and was a part of the discussion by the stewards and is therefore deemed significant and relevant.”
The complete appeal will be heard after the Portuguese Grand Prix.
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