Porsche have confirmed their appeal to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal (ICA) over Antonio Felix da Costa‘s three-minute penalty from the first 2023 London E-Prix.
Da Costa crossed the line in second place behind Mitch Evans after storming through the field from 17th, but was penalised for a technical infringement, which has been confirmed as being below the tyre pressures set by Hankook.
The Portuguese driver had a puncture, so was 0.5 bar under the 1.2 bar tyre pressure limit set by Hankook, so dropped to 16th place following the penalty.
Total-Motorsport.com first revealed the results of the race have been suspended due to the appeal, so the order behind race-winner Evans could change.
“On Saturday, July 29th after race 15 at the London E-Prix, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team gave notice of intention to appeal against the FIA’s decision no.10 which penalised Antonio Felix Da Costa,” a Porsche spokesperson told Total-Motorsport.com.
“Once lodged, the team had 96 hours to confirm the appeal at the International Court of Appeal (ICA) of the FIA. Today, we can confirm that the official appeal against decision no.10 was filed within the notice period.
“Antonio suffered a slow puncture due to debris on the track, which meant that the pressure from his front right tyre fell below the prescribed minimum. The damage occurred due to an external impact, it was not our fault. For us, this decision is incomprehensible and unacceptable. Our primary concern is a fair equal treatment in the spirit of the sport.
“Due to the ongoing proceedings, we will not make any further statements on this incident until a final decision by the ICA (International Court of Appeal) has been reached.”
