FIA tweaks Hungarian GP final classification amid Vettel appeal

Post-race inspections had found that Vettel’s Aston Martin car did not have the minimum one-litre of fuel that the FIA mandates for its analysis checks.

As the failure to have the minimum amount of fuel was a breach of the technical regulations, then Vettel was disqualified from his second place finish behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

Almost immediately following the exclusion, the Aston Martin team announced that it intended to appeal the FIA decision on the grounds that it believed the car does have enough fuel on board to comply with the regulations.

With the team suspecting a lift pump problem caused Vettel to stop on the track on his slow down lap, they believe that could also account for why the fuel was not in the main tank.

Aston Martin argues that it is just a matter of getting the fuel out of the areas of the car where it has ended up.

Team principal Otmar Szafnauer said: “By all of our calculations, there should still be 1.44 litres of fuel left in the car after the 300 millilitre sample was taken.

“And we just have to show the FIA that it was in there, and 300 millilitres is enough for their fuel sample. And that will be the basis of the appeal.”

For now, the FIA has impounded Vettel’s machine while the appeal process is underway and it will be transported to the governing body’s technical facility in France.

Despite the disqualification, the FIA’s official results from the Hungarian GP still had Vettel in his runner-up spot, with a note highlighting it was pending appeal.

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

The inclusion of Vettel in second spot prompted some intrigue because it appeared to be a break with tradition, with disqualified cars normally excluded from the final classification even when appeals are under way.

It now appears that rather than there being a change of procedures, the inclusion of Vettel in the original final classification and points was due to an admin error.

Revised documents sent out by the FIA on Monday afternoon had Vettel removed from the results subject to the outcome of any appeal – with Lewis Hamilton moving up to second and Carlos Sainz now in third.

A note in the documents said: “The classification is provisional, subject to the outcome of the notice of appeal lodged by Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team against Stewards decision 59.”

Hungarian Grand Prix - final classification

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Gap
1	Esteban Ocon		Alpine
	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	1.859
2	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	2.736
3	Carlos Sainz Jr.		Ferrari	15.018
4	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	15.651
5	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	1'03.614
6	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	1'15.803
7	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	1'17.910
8	George Russell		Williams	1'19.094
9	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	1'20.244
10	Kimi Raikkonen		Alfa Romeo	1 Lap
11	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	1 Lap
12	Mick Schumacher		Haas	1 Lap
13	Antonio Giovinazzi		Alfa Romeo	1 Lap
	Nikita Mazepin		Haas	67 Laps
	Lando Norris		McLaren	68 Laps
	Valtteri Bottas		Mercedes
	Sergio Perez		Red Bull
	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari
	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin
View full results