Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead has been extended to eight points after the correction of an error in the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was listed as second in the “final” results Sunday night despite being disqualified for a fuel infringement
A note said it was provisional pending an appeal by Aston Martin.
The results have been re-issued with Vettel disqualified and Hamilton second.
An appeal by Aston Martin may still happen.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz moves up to the final podium place in third, and everyone behind him also moves up one position, making Briton George Russell eighth for Williams and elevating Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen to the final points place in 10th.
The reshuffle moves Hamilton’s title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, up from 10th to ninth, but with the extra points the Mercedes driver gets for the move from third to second, Hamilton gains a net two points on Verstappen.
Issuing the final results with a disqualified driver in the place he finished in went against all precedent for governing body the FIA, and the organisation has now corrected the record.
Aston Martin have indicated their intention to appeal against Vettel’s disqualification but have not yet confirmed whether they will go ahead with it.
Vettel was disqualified because officials were unable to take the mandatory one-litre sample of fuel from the car after the race.
The FIA said it was possible to pump out only 0.3 litres from the car and that it was no defence to claim no performance advantage was obtained.
F1 rules dictate that teams must ensure that a one-litre sample of fuel can be taken from the car at any time during the event.
Running less fuel can give a performance advantage as each 1kg of fuel weight equates to about 0.035secs a lap on an average circuit. Fuel usage is also restricted under F1’s engine formula, which is designed to reward efficiency.
Hungarian Grand Prix stewards said: “The team was given several opportunities to attempt to remove the required amount of fuel from the tank, however it was only possible to pump 0.3 litres out.”
The stewards added that team principal Otmar Szafnauer and technical director Andrew Green said that there must be 1.44 litres left in the car, but they were unable to extract it.
