Bleekemolen furious with officials

The Dutch driver was given a 25-second penalty after the race, meaning he dropped from eighth place to 18th in the results, costing the team three points.

Bleekemolen was judged to have pulled alongside the South African car directly in front of him four seconds before the lights went green, but the 26-year-old completely disagreed with the decision.

"The penalty for the jump start I feel is completely ridiculous," he said. "I have never been this angry at a race.

"According to the stewards I went alongside South Africa four seconds early, but at that point you are still in the final corner before the lights turn green. This is complete rubbish."

Bleekemolen added that the stewards would not talk to the team about the incident once they had made their decision.

"They won't even look at it, let alone talk to us about it," he said. "We were busy with this right up to the second race, I did not even get a chance to eat something prior to the race."

Team boss Jan Lammers believes that the confusion was caused by Adrian Zaugg making a poor start in the South African car, and he added that the team have appealed the decision.

"We have given our evidence and done everything in our power to show that the penalty was unjust and get it reversed," he said.

"History has shown that this never ever happens. After 36 years of racing I have yet to witness an organisation rectify a mistake or correct it, good or bad.

"Instead of Zaugg admitting his mistake, South Africa went and react to their bad race by protesting us. That causes the reaction from the organisation. It is a part of the sport."