McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was stripped of a dramatic victory

sportsstar


Joined: 21/08/2008
Posts: 53

Message Posted:
07/09/2008 19:24

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was stripped of a dramatic victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after stewards handed him a 25-second post-race penalty.



The Englishman was demoted to third place behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.



The move came after an investigation into a late-race battle between Hamilton and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.



Hamilton's lead over Massa in the title chase has been cut by two points.



Massa's team-mate Raikkonen 19 points adrift off the lead



Before the penalty, he had extended his lead over the Brazilian to eight points, with Raikkonen effectively out of the running on 23



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brandy sour


Joined: 09/04/2008
Posts: 310

Message Posted:
07/09/2008 20:02

He won fair and squire i don,t think they want him to win the the this year yet again what a fix , what a load of rubbish

jakki



Joined: 23/10/2007
Posts: 865

Message Posted:
07/09/2008 20:52

What do you expect? In the last Grand Prix, Massa was given a fine for pulling out in the pit lane without looking, nearly causing an accident.



Was the penalty for Hamilton 25 seconds so that it would be sufficient to give Ferrari the "right result" ?



There's a pretty nasty smell about it. Perhaps the stewards at Spa need some discipline- I think Max Mosley could teach them a thing or two!!

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
07/09/2008 21:15

Sounds like Bernie up to his old tricks again !

killer dog


Joined: 28/08/2008
Posts: 9

Message Posted:
07/09/2008 21:31

totally unfair!



hamiltons just amazing and they are doing everything and anything to try and beat him.



come on hamilton!!!!!!!!!

you can beat them,kick there arses

ladylittle


Joined: 09/03/2008
Posts: 498

Message Posted:
07/09/2008 21:42

Sounds like Jackie Stewarts quote about there being a conspiricy against Mcclaren is right on!! Come on Lewis show them how it done!!!

techtrader


Joined: 06/08/2008
Posts: 126

Message Posted:
08/09/2008 02:03

must admit I thought all of the above when I first heard but if you watch it again he would not have been in the position he was to overtake Kimi had he not made the illegal crossover initially. I understand that it was only a matter of time but once again he showed some impatience that has cost him. For once I don't see a conspiracy here!

bootneck



Joined: 23/06/2008
Posts: 242

Message Posted:
08/09/2008 08:52

Are you a ferrari fan by any chance!! or has recent events passed you by? one great example was, how did Massa only get a fine. I must admit that i was very peed off hearing this after watching a fantastic race and i for one could not be happier when Kimi hit the wall but this is only my thought!

Chick-A-Dee


Joined: 16/06/2008
Posts: 342

Message Posted:
08/09/2008 12:18

Why did they not at least tell McClaren that there was a problem during the last two laps. Why did this happen the way it did ... me thinks they are scared of Hamilton and don't want him to win....do I smell dirty tricks?

sportsstar


Joined: 21/08/2008
Posts: 53

Message Posted:
08/09/2008 13:06

McLaren have said they intend to fight the punishment that stripped Lewis Hamilton of his Belgian Grand Prix win.



Stewards hit the Englishman with a 25-second penalty, demoting him to third, for cutting a chicane as he battled with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.



But a McLaren spokesman said: "Having passed the lead back to Kimi, Lewis repositioned, moving his car across and behind Kimi to the right-hand line.



"He then outbraked him into the hairpin. We intend to appeal."



McLaren have seven days to decide whether to go ahead with the appeal.



If they do, it would be formally lodged by the UK's national sporting authority, the Motor Sports Association, with Formula One's governing body the FIA.



There is also some debate about whether the rules allow for teams to appeal against a time penalty - but that would be decided by the FIA court of appeal if the case comes before it.



The incident that led to the penalty arrived at the end of lap 42 as the rain Hamilton had been praying for duly arrived.



It allowed F1's wet-weather king to reel in leader Raikkonen and on the approach to the Bus Stop chicane, he had the Finn in his sights.



If there's a penalty, then there's something wrong because I was ahead going into that corner, so I didn't gain an advantage from it



Lewis Hamilton



Hamilton darted around the outside, both drivers locked up their brakes on entry and Hamilton took evasive action by using a run-off area to his left.



The rules say drivers are not allowed to gain an advantage by cutting a chicane.



Returning to the track in the lead, the 23-year-old knew he had to yield his position, otherwise he would have been duly penalised.



Hamilton appeared to do so, with Raikkonen crossing the start-finish line narrowly ahead, before Hamilton promptly filed in behind.



Taking up the slipstream, he then overtook reigning world champion Raikkonen on entry to La Source hairpin.



But race stewards Nicholas Deschaux, Surinder Thatti and Yves Bacquelaine saw things differently.



The McLaren spokesman said: "We looked at all our data and also made it available to the FIA stewards.



"It showed that, having lifted [off the accelerator], Lewis was 6kph slower than Kimi as they crossed the start-finish line.



"Based on this data, we have no option other than to register our intention to appeal.



"We are a racing team and we will now focus on Monza (the Italian Grand Prix next Sunday), with a view to extending our lead in the drivers' world championship."



Despite his joy at the apparent win, describing his fight with Raikkonen as "one of the most exciting for a long time," Hamilton perhaps had an inkling as to what might transpire.



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