Haas’ appeal against Romain Grosjean’s exclusion from the Italian Grand Prix has been rejected by the FIA’s International Court of Appeal, meaning the result stands.
Grosjean classified sixth at Monza in September but Renault lodged a protest based on the legality of the VF-18’s floor, amid claims Haas failed to comply with a technical directive.
Haas stressed that it was unable to comply with the directive in time for the Monza round, having pledged to make the changes for Singapore, but stewards determined this was not a viable reason.
Grosjean was disqualified from the results, losing Haas eight points, and gaining rival Renault two additional points, with Carlos Sainz Jr. promoted from ninth to eighth.
Haas notified its intention to appeal the result.
It gave Renault a 10-point advantage in what had been a close scrap, with the provisional result having left the two teams level on points.
The FIA’s International Court of Appeal met in Paris on Thursday and on Friday delivered its verdict, backing the sanction initially handed out by the Italian GP stewards.
It means the result of the Italian Grand Prix is now official.
The verdict strengthens Renault’s grip on fourth position in the Constructors’ Championship, having pulled 30 points clear of Haas in recent Grands Prix.
The outcome is also good news for Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin as he keeps the point he inherited for 10th place, his sole finish in the top 10 in his rookie Formula 1 campaign.
An FIA statement on Friday announced that "only the operative part of the decision has been notified to the Parties. The full decision including grounds will be notified later on."
Haas boss Guenther Steiner commented that he was "disappointed" at the outcome but vowed the team will "simply move forward and look to the final two races of the year."
