Räikkönen's Imola appeal rejected

The commissioners of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) have made their decision. No, Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo) will not recover the points for ninth place, lost after a penalty during the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The Finnish veteran was penalized for not having recovered his initial position before the Safety-Car 1 line, following a spin on a wet track. He should have returned to the pits and set off after the entire peloton had passed, which he did not do. 

The commissioners explained their reasoning as follows. “ The stewards accept the competitor's position that the rules probably do not correspond to the original intention. But they have been in the regulations since 2018. In the event of ambiguity, the benefit of the doubt should go to the competitor… [but] even if the stewards understand why the team acted as it did – firstly to telling the driver to resume his position, then later to tell him not to resume the position – the stewards uphold their initial decision that the competitor committed a violation of Article 42.6 by not reestablishing his starting position for the lap behind the safety car. »

Alfa Romeo accepted this decision from the governing bodies. “Alfa Romeo acknowledges the FIA ​​Stewards’ decision to uphold the original penalty for Kimi Raikkonen, following a review of the incident. The team is now fully focused on the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend (May 7-9) ». It's better, because it's not the abandonment after a collision with his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi in Portugal that will bring relief to the heart of the team!