Aston Martin has ended their appeal against Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion finished second behind surprise winner Esteban Ocon in Budapest only to be thrown out of the results after the FIA was only able to extract 0.3L of fuel from his car, much less than the necessary one-litre sample required post-race.
Aston Martin argued a right to review, revealing a fuel pressure problem had caused a fuel leak and therefore the team’s calculated amount left in the tank was much higher than was actually the case.
However, this was rejected by the stewards because the team couldn’t argue the fact Vettel’s car had less than the one litre of fuel that was required.
Aston Martin could have gone on to lodge a full appeal against Vettel’s disqualification but in a statement on Thursday, ruled out doing so.
“Having considered our position and having noted the FIA stewards’ verdict that there was clear new evidence of a fuel system failure, we have nonetheless withdrawn our appeal on the basis that we believe doing so outweighs the benefits of it being heard,” the team said.
As a result, both driver and the team lose the 18 points for second place with Lewis Hamilton officially moving up into that position and Carlos Sainz completing the top three for Ferrari.