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David Harrington-Wright September 24, 2008 12:29 PM

Come on Alan, get over it. The rules are there "not to be broken" - the stewards are given the power to make these decisions, and it was McLaren that chose to challenge it - even though it was obvious from a reading of the rule they would get nowhere - had they been succesful, then the rule book would have to have been thrown out.

A similar situation in the football at the weekend with a goal that should not have been - but nothing can be done about it now and everyone accepts the decision. You might not like the decision, but its clear once made its beyond challenge.

Whilst it may serve the powers that be for the championship to go to the last race, I don't think it has any bearing on this case. Hamilton was judged to get it wrong, and punished in accordance with the rules. Just live with it!

dillonsamben September 24, 2008 4:35 PM

The World over, surely most motor racing fans firmly believe that if it had been either Ferrari overtaking Hamilton then there either wouldn’t have been this ludicrous imposition of the 25 second penalty in the first place – OR – the appeal panel would have overturned the decision.

As I have suggested previously, I am sure the original overtaking manoeuvre would not have had any form of penalty if it hadn’t have resulted in the F1 championship race drawing to a close before the final race.

Until a positive denial is made by a certain short person who has to be obeyed, I know I am not the only follower of F1 who doesn’t view this entire unfortunate episode with absolute disdain.

SteelD September 24, 2008 5:37 PM

The reality is that the overtaking manoeuvre did not materially affect the result of the race because Kimi Raikkonen crashed out of it anyway. Lewis conceded the lead and then, being obviously the faster car in those conditions, simply overtook Kimi. The FIA can't see further than their own noses - a serious time penalty for McLaren meaning lost points because a racing driver was racing while Ferrari get a measly $10,000 fine for dangerously releasing their car from the pits into the path of another car. It's about the time the FIA was totally overhauled in the interests of the sport.

tommallett September 24, 2008 6:21 PM

I still struggle to see how the decision was incorrect, the manouvre clearly benefitted Hamilton as he was glued to the back of Raikkonens gearbox on the straight instead of being a couple of seconds behind as would have been the case if the chicane was not cut. Who is to say what would have happened if he had not broken the rules? Maybe Raikkonen would not have crashed out and still be in the championship race? Maybe Hamilton would have spun overtaking him?

If the rules are broken the culprit deserves the justice; maybe the UK press is just a bit blinkered about the boy wonder? As I see it he hasn't displayed consistency since the first ten races of 2007.

Ddjo September 24, 2008 6:34 PM

<p>Funny how current F1 drivers being interviewed all tell us Hamilton's move clearly advantaged him, yet most armchair 'specialists', from the British press in particular, go for the conspiracy theory, presenting us with very partial opinions, without proofs or facts...</p>

<p>e.g. Mark Webber : "It's absolutely clear that Lewis jumped the previous chicane and he had very good momentum into the next corner, the rules are obviously that you have to let the other car past, but the grey area unfortunately is that he attacked Kimi again immediately, which was very difficult for Kimi to defend because he went around the whole track at the previous corner."

"I think most guys would've thought it was a little bit cheeky to attack again in that way," he said.

"I would've done it differently, personally."</p>

david RS September 24, 2008 7:02 PM

It is zero that decision!

The managers of the F1 are true amateurs.

Attention, a manufacturer like Mercedes could leave the championship!

I would not like to see Massa champion two points ahead.

G Harvey September 24, 2008 10:04 PM

When will Max and Bernie show fans of F1 some respect and give them a championship that bears at least some resemblance to what happens out on the track? After last years fiasco of the constructors championship being decided in the courts you would think they would have learned by now. Sadly it's happened again with results being overturned, appeals, lawyers getting involved and so on. If the FIA don't get their house in order then the sport is heading for the gutter.

Love him or loath him, I don't believe any level headed person would deny that Lewis Hamilton is a world class talent, probably the best driver Britain has had since Mansell. There has been hysteria in the media over the result in Spa. Putting any partiality to Hamilton to one side and analysing the situation clearly there was an obvious advantage gained by Hamilton by not following Raikkonen through the chicane and one wonders if Lewis would have been in such a good position to overtake if he had done so. I suspect he wouldn't have been. Although allowing Kimi to retake his position surrendered some of that advantage, Lewis should have realised he had plenty time to retake the lead having superior grip and at that stage in the race significantly faster lap times. In view of that then it is only right and proper that some kind of penalty be given to Hamilton to redress the balance.

However, in ruling that the offence warranted a 25 second penalty this had a material impact on the result of the race, demoting Hamilton by two places and handing victory to a driver that was far slower all day and never got within a sniff of Hamilton's tail light.

I think an earlier poster compared this to a football match at the weekend when Reading were given a goal that never was, and how we should just accept it. Well, let's all remember that at the time he took the chequered flag Lewis's victory looked as though it would be allowed to stand, and only after the race had long since finished was result was overturned. Personally I don't see the similarity as I have no recollection of the result being changed after the final whistle in the Watford Vs Reading game. You can understand and maybe sometimes even accept decisions being wrong if officials are put on the spot and asked to make a split second ruling, however the stewards and the FIA had more than enough time to consider the incident and yet still blundered. Just to compound the situation they then allowed an appeal hearing to proceed and then threw it out without even considering it, citing the penalty was not susceptible to appeal. Didn't they know that when the penalty was given? Or are they doing their best to ruin the credibility of their sport?

It's not punishing Hamilton that is incorrect; to me that issue is cut and dried. It's is just the disproportionate nature of the penalty and the ramifications it has for the outcome of the championship that are concerning.

Ian Bryan September 25, 2008 12:14 PM

Most people seem to miss the point.   The 25s penalty was given because as the stewards saw it an offence was committed.  The minimum penalty was for a drive through or as in this case because it was near the end of the race a 25s penalty applied (i.e. the equivalent in time)

This brings up 2 concerns. The rules also state that in the pits, driving in to the path of an oncoming car requires a drive through penalty or if near the end of the race a 25s penalty.  The stewards the previous weekend stated that Massa broke the rules, but instead of applying the minimum penalty let the race stand and invented new criteria outside of the rules.  That is the main beef.

The 2nd area of conflict is the definition of what is acceptable to be the meaning of yielding the advantage, there has never been any definition.

In any other racing once the chequered flag has fallen, the results stand, unless scrutinising finds infringements in the equipment.   The stewards had the option of calling it sooner and couldn’t be bothered.

rattlingharry September 26, 2008 12:43 PM

The Ferrari is known to struggle to keep the heat in the tyres when its cold and damp and the McLaren copes much better in these conditions... if the ferrari had better traction then this situation surely would not have arisen. If it was dry, there is no way Lewis would have be able to re-overtake Kimi after he ceded the lead at that point.

Watching the race when Lewis gave the lead back to Kimi, the ferrari didn't pull away from Lewis, he was a sitting duck struggling to get the power down.

Beowolf October 2, 2008 10:53 AM

Agreed with the main point in the article: if the rules state that it is pointless appealing a decision by the stewards, why let them lodge an appeal...?  What a farce!  

And as for the comparison with the goal-that-never-was being allowed AND letting the decision stand, it shows how at times major sporting events are reduced to circus acts: they become nothing but a freak show generating a 'and finally' news story.   Madness.

the limit November 10, 2008 5:10 AM

Whatever the decision of the courts, the true winner of the Spa race crossed the line first. Millions watched the race with their own eyes, including many who despise Hamilton and McLaren, yet were shocked and outraged at the penalty.

You can't tell people, that the two hour event they have just seen did not happen that way, that somehow the guy they saw win did not.

Why not just drop Hamilton five places on the grid for the next race if he committed a crime? This whole thing has been done on purpose to undermine this kid and his team, in the hope that they lose their focus and the world championship.

 Never, in all my life, have I seen a sporting event run like this.