Ferrari has insisted that the tyre allocation infringement that resulted in it shedding second place in Saturday’s Bahrain World Endurance Championship finale provided no efficiency benefit.
Ferdinando Cannizzo, the Italian producer’s sportscar racing technical director, mentioned “nothing would have modified, no benefit and no drawback” when questioned the day after the race in regards to the infraction that relegated the #51 manufacturing unit AF Corse Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar to 14th place within the closing classification.
Cannizzo additionally clarified the character of the infringement, which he mentioned was opposite to that outlined within the stewards’ bulletin.
The bulletin asserting the penalty said that Ferrari had used two extra Michelin tyres than the 26 allowed for a qualifying and the race at an eight-hour WEC occasion.
Cannizzo mentioned: “All I can say is that we ran 26 tyres.”
There was additional clarification in Ferrari’s post-race press launch.
“In keeping with the doc, the automotive used 28 tyres fairly than the 26 permitted for qualifying and the race – actually, the crew revered the 26-tyre restrict,” it learn.
“Nonetheless, due to a mistake, through the race they [the team] used the tyres fitted to the automotive for the grid formation as a substitute of these scrubbed throughout qualifying and supposed for the race.
“These two tyres weren’t thought-about as a part of the contingent allotted by the crew, therefore the stewards’ determination.”
Cannizzo’s feedback suppose that the Michelins mistakenly used on #51 have been of the identical compound and had already carried out the same variety of laps as these tyres that have been a part of its allocation.
Cannizzo wouldn’t reveal how the error occurred. “It’s a story I wish to hold for us,” he said.
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Photograph by: Ferrari
All tyres used within the WEC have bar codes and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags which can be routinely learn as a automotive leaves the pitlane.
A crew declares the person tyres it’s going to use earlier than the beginning of the race.
Cannizzo known as for constant interpretation and enforcement of the foundations throughout his post-race press briefing on Sunday afternoon.
“We should always push to have the identical standards in each race and each state of affairs – that is what I would love,” he mentioned.
“What doesn’t work is to use completely different standards in numerous conditions.”
Requested if he believed that the tyre allocation guidelines had been damaged and never punished prior to now, Cannizzo replied within the affirmative.
The #51 Ferrari shared by Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, which completed 27s behind the profitable Toyota on the finish of the Bahrain 8 Hours, incurred a time penalty of 4m55s, which resulted in it being listed as two laps down within the closing classification.
Cannizzo said that Ferrari’s error was not linked to delays in Hypercar tyre provider Michelin offering the organisers – the FIA and the Car Membership de l’Ouest – with the record of tyres and their identification codes.
This was provided three hours earlier than the beginning of the race fairly than 48 hours previous to the beginning of the occasion as laid down within the rules.
The stewards dominated that the delay had no affect on the occasion, however fined Michelin €15,000 with €10,000 suspended.
