Toyota #7 should have been disqualified?

[lowdrag]

I am curious as to why it wasn't really. The rules clearly state that if the driver goes further away from the car than 5 metres then he has officially abandoned the car and it is no longer in the race. He got out of the car, hopped over the tyre wall, and then quite clearly took his helmet off and walked a minimum of 25 metres before returning to the car. Somewhere either I've missed the plot or - as is common - the rules were observed in the breach.

[zebedee]

I do think he walked too far away from the car and in fact I was screaming at the tv to get back in it as it should plainly have survived the impact with the tyres, but I don't think Audi are the kind of team to complain like that, so I don't really care. Toyota deserved to bring it home.

[Truckosaurus]

Maybe they get the benefit of the doubt if asked by marshals to get to a place of safety.

[greeny12]

The rules say:

c) During the race, unless instructed by the marshals, if the driver strays more than 10 metres from his car, the car will be considered as having retired from the race;

Would make sense for them to get him clear of the car after a shunt of that size so I guess that undelined clause came into effect?

[zebedee]

He probably was told to get out of the way, but I wasn't sure why he then walked back off up the track whilst on the other side of the barrier. They might have told him to wait there as that was where they were recovering the car to as there is a lane behind the barrier there. I didn't see where he got back into his car but I would be surprised if he didn't always intend to drive it back because it wasn't badly damaged and it was so close to the end of the race and in all likelihood 4th was going to be as good as it got anyway

[McSam]

greeny12 said:

The rules say:

c) During the race, unless instructed by the marshals, if the driver strays more than 10 metres from his car, the car will be considered as having retired from the race;

Would make sense for them to get him clear of the car after a shunt of that size so I guess that undelined clause came into effect?

This. fk staying near the car at Porsche Curves when it's raining hard and everyone is on slicks!

I also think that nobody would have complained as they did not get the third place they were fighting for, and by that stage I don't think any other P1 would have beaten it to fourth anyway. Certainly Audi and Rebellion wouldn't complain, and Strakka had enough to celebrate already!

[DS240]

If it had been leading by a long margin then things might have been different with regards to complaints!

[VladD]

They did say on the Eurosport commentary that given the size of the impact, the driver would have been quite shaken and not thinking that clearly when he got out. He probably assumed that the damage was worse than it was so started to leave. Understandable, and you'd have to be a bit of an arse to lodge a protest based on that.