Porsche Formula E driver Pascal Wehrlein has hit out at the stewards after he was stripped of the Puebla EPrix victory for a rules infringement.
Wehrlein scored pole for Saturday’s race and went on to win the race ahead of the two Audi cars of Lucas di Grassi and Rene Rast. However he was placed under investigation during the race and as he crossed the finish line in first, his name quickly dropped to the bottom of the timing screens.
A message then followed explaining the German racer had been disqualified for a rules infringement when the team failed to declare his starting tyres prior to the race.
Wehrlein hit out at the stewards, believing a fine would have sufficed given he claimed no performance benefit.
“Today should have been an amazing day for us,” said Wehrlein. “Pole Position and a dominant win in the race. But we got disqualified because we didn’t declare the tyre set before the race. By the way also three other drivers didn’t.
“I would understand a penalty if something was illegal or if we gained an advantage for doing something not correct but not for a formality.
“I‘m fully behind my team we did an amazing job today.”
Directing his comments at the stewards, he added: “If it’s so important for you which of the three sets we are using for the race just f**king go and check yourself in the half hour on the grid where the tyres are mounted on the car.
“It’s a shame that all the hard work and preparation of so many people are put in the bin by a simple formality mistake. It hurts and how should we explain that to the fans and spectators?
“If you feel like this deserves a penalty, fine us. There are fines given for harsher stuff and I would be more then happy to pay it from my own pocket.
“That’s my opinion and I don’t want to hold it back even if some people may not like it. Tomorrow we go again. We don’t give up!”
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