Spyker have won their first ever Formula 1 point after Japanese stewards decided that the Toro Rosso of Liuzzi had overtaken Sutil under yellow flag conditions.
The incident in question took place on lap 55 of the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. The stewards deemed that Liuzzi s overtaking manoeuvre had happened under the yellow flag and the Italian driver was handed a post-race 25 second penalty. This means that Sutil was promoted up to eighth place in the final standings, winning Spyker their first point of the season.
This means that Toro Rosso have lost their only point of the season, and Spyker have been promoted to ninth in the constructors standings. Toro Rosso are now the only team who have failed to score a single point all season with the exception of McLaren who have had all their constructors points stripped from them.
“For sure, I think we deserved this point after all the hard work this year and we finally got it,†Sutil said. “It is a great feeling even if we didn t get it on the track. I think it was the right decision there was green flag after this yellow flag from Turn 1 so we were definitely right and that is why we got this point.â€
“We had clear evidence that Liuzzi passed Adrian under yellow flags and I am pleased that the Stewards of the Meeting agreed,†team principal of Spyker, Colin Kolles remarked. “The decision which has ultimately given us our first ever points is a just reward for Adrian who drove an excellent race today.
“It is also a well deserved boost for all the team s hard work this year. Now we have this milestone ticked off, we can now focus on moving forward and being in the points on a more regular basis. We are all looking forward to China now!â€
