Hearing worth millions scheduled for Audi: Battle for a Formula 1 point

For Jules Verne and his fictional hero Phileas Fogg, the goal was to travel round the world in 80 days. For Audi, the aim this Formula 1 season is to perhaps secure one more point 80 days after the Monza race. The German team lodged an appeal following the Italian Grand Prix. The date for the hearing has now been set.

Later this month, on 25 November to be precise, the Italian Grand Prix will be heard before the appeals court of the FIA – so exactly 80 days after the race at Monza in Italy, the Grand Prix will be re-examined.

When will the decision be made in the Audi F1 hearing?

The hearing will take place at 9 am on 25 November at the FIA headquarters in Paris on the Place de la Concorde. This is between the races in Las Vegas and Qatar. The FIA’s announcement states that the decision will be published ‘as soon as possible’ after the hearing. In a similar case concerning the Monaco Grand Prix, however, it took just over a week. Nevertheless, the matter should be resolved before the season finale. The hearing will take place behind closed doors.

What the Audi hearing before the FIA court is about

What exactly happened again? Gabriel Bortoleto finished eleventh at Monza in early September, meaning he missed out on the points by the narrowest of margins. Yuki Tsunoda (as a stand-in driver for Racing Bulls) finished tenth in the final race standings. However, in Audi’s view, Tsunoda should have received a penalty – hence the appeal to the ICA (International Court of Appeal).

The contentious situation: at the restart following Charles Leclerc’s (Ferrari) crash, Tsunoda initially lined up on the wrong side of the grid. He corrected the mistake in time and was in the correct starting box – though positioned so crookedly that the FIA race control called off the start and ordered an additional formation lap.

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Usually, in such a situation, the offender is penalised by having to start from the pit lane or serve a stop-and-go penalty. Neither of these happened. A stop-and-go penalty for offences committed during the race is usually converted retrospectively into a 30-second time penalty. Tsunoda ultimately crossed the line exactly seven seconds ahead of Bortoleto. Should a retrospective penalty be imposed, Bortoleto would therefore move up the order. The catch for Audi, however, is that according to race control, Tsunoda was not deemed to have caused the extra formation lap.

Audi vs. Tsunoda: Hearing in Paris

All this fuss over a single point, one might think. In hindsight, however, the appeal could turn out to be a move that decides the fate of millions. After all, in the battle for positions in the Constructors’ Championship, every single point really does count. Haas currently sits three points ahead of Audi in 7th place (31 vs 28). A decision by the stewards could therefore bring Audi one point closer to the competition and improve their position in this tight battle in the final races. The standings in the Constructors’ Championship determine prize money running into the millions.