Ferrari respect Max-Leclerc decision

Ferrari believe the decision not to penalise Max Verstappen for his wheel-banging overtake on Charles Leclerc at the Austrian GP was “wrong”, but will not appeal the stewards’ call so that F1 can “turn the page”.

Moments after it was confirmed that Verstappen would face no further action for his race-winning pass on Leclerc, where the Monegasque was forced off the track at Turn Three, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto faced reporters in Spielberg and was understandably disappointed with the verdict.

“We still believe that this is the wrong decision, that’s our own opinion,” said Binotto. “We believe that Charles left entire space, he had no fault, a collision has happened and he has been pushed off the track.

“We believe these are the rules, which we may appreciate or not, and these are exactly the same rules which have been applied in past races.”

But Binotto added: “Having said that, we respect fully the decision of the stewards, they are the judge and we need to respect that.

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Max Verstappen overtakes Charles Leclerc to take the lead in Austria as the two bang wheels inside of Turn Three

“And more than that, as a Ferrari fan, and I am the ultimate Ferrari fan, I think it’s time for F1 to turn the page and look ahead.”

The Ferrari chief then confirmed that Ferrari had the option of submitting an intention of appeal on Sunday night but that “it’s our decision not to do it”.

It is the second post-race investigation in three races where Ferrari haven’t got the decision they wanted, after Sebastian Vettel was denied a race win in Canada for an incident with Lewis Hamilton.

“Certainly we believe that interpretation have been different in these two cases, why I think again we are unhappy with what has been the decision today,” said Binotto. “A collision has been created and Charles has been pushed off the track.”

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Max Verstappen tells Sky Sports’ Paul di Resta his win in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix is the best race of his career after stewards confirmed they would take no action against him

But he also admitted that a decision not to penalise Verstappen may well improve racing in the future.

“I think these are accidents that may happen in a race,” he said. “As we often said we should leave the drivers free to battle.

“So we are not supporting the decision but we understand that we need to move forward and we want to see what’s good for F1.

“So bravo to Verstappen, he did a fantastic race today, as I think Charles did as well. Charles drove very well, and there will be new opportunities.”