Phil Robertson believes Spain was incorrectly shown the first ever Black Flag in SailGP on Saturday to be disqualified from the third race of the opening day of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix.
The Spanish team, which finished fourth in each of the first two races, appeared to be speeding to a perfect start in race 3 with an angled maneuver already utilised to some success this season.
However, only seconds after crossing the start line a Black Flag was shown to Robertson’s team as the umpires adjudged the Spanish maneuver to be hazardous to the United States team - which was forced to quickly adjust its F50 to avoid a potential collision.
This Black Flag resulted in an instant disqualification from the race, and meant Spain finished the day down in sixth place - only two points above the disappointing home British team.
Robertson, the Spain Driver, did not agree with the decision as he revealed his frustration at the end of the race.
“In the moment we felt it was a rough call,” said Robertson. “We didn't really infringe anyone, and we were going twice the speed of everyone else and we got over the top.
“After reviewing it we thought exactly the same thing.
“Looking at the video footage it looks like we were well clear, so I'm really interested to hear what the umpires have to say.
“I think, at best, maybe we infringed the Americans - but they were quite low and veering away as well.
“It is what it is, we're moving on, forgetting about it. I guess the precedent has been set now for what you can and can't do, and if you get a good start and slightly infringe on someone you're DSQ’d.
“So it'll be interesting to hear what the umpire has to say.”
The United States recovered from Spain’s infringement to win race three and top the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix leaderboard at the end of Race Day 1.
