Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone blasted the controversy surrounding world champion Sebastian Vettel’s Brazilian Grand Prix overtaking manoeuvre as a “joke”.
Ferrari had contacted Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, concerning the move by the Red Bull driver during last weekend’s season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix that won him a third successive title.
There had been speculation that the manoeuvre could have been illegal and, if so, Vettel could have been sanctioned and thereby stripped of his title in favour of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who missed out on the championship by just three points.
But Formula One ringmaster Ecclestone said it was a shame that the climax to the season had been overshadowed by the row.
“It’s a shame because everything had gone so well,” he said.
“It was a great race, a super championship. Now everyone is talking about this. The problem is that no-one knows what is going on.”
On Thursday, the respected Autosport magazine said there was “no doubt” at the FIA that Vettel had overtaken legitimately on lap four of the race because a green flag had already been displayed in the yellow flag sector, allowing drivers to re-sume passing.
No team had asked for a review of the incident, it added.
“In the rules and regs normally you have to protest,” added Ecclestone.
“They (Ferrari) missed that time. Then there is the fact that a green flag was shown, which nobody seems to dispute. It’s a complete joke. What Ferrari are saying in that letter is wrong. I don’t think there needs to be any action taken. It’s completely and utterly wrong.”
On Wednesday, footage emerged on YouTube which appeared to show Vettel, the youngest triple world champion in history, overtaking Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne under yellow flags.
Overtaking under caution is outlawed and is usually punished with a drive-through penalty.
But in cases where the infringement is not spotted, the sanction is a 20-second penalty handed out retrospectively.
Vettel was sixth in Sunday’s race, while Alonso was second behind McLaren’s Jenson Button.
Meanwhile, Ferrari yesterday decided to end their probe after the FIA confirmed they had looked into the overtaking move and said Vettel had acted within the rules.
“The FIA has replied to Scuderia Ferrari stating that as the overtaking manoeuvre was not in breach of the regulations, and therefore there was no infringement to investigate, it was not reported to the Stewards by Race Control,” said an FIA statement.
Ferrari then declared that they would no longer pursue their query.
“Ferrari duly takes note of the reply sent by the FIA and therefore considers the matter now closed,” said their statement.
“The request for a clarification from the FIA, regarding Vettel’s passing move on Jean-Eric Vergne, came about through the need to shed light on the circumstances of the move, which came out on the Internet only a few days after the race.”