Hamilton: will he or wont he.............

[AFII]

THE race stewards at the Brazilian Grand Prix have launched an inquiry into fuel samples that could yet see British rookie Lewis Hamilton installed as drivers' champion hours after the race ended.

The stewards called upon the BMW Sauber and the Williams teams to send representatives to discuss issues arising from the post-race scrutineering.

If, as many observers believe, the two teams used fuel or had given fuel samples that in some way contravened Formula One's strict technical regulations, their drivers may be disqualified from the race result.

Since Nico Rosberg, of Williams, finished fourth ahead of the two BMW drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, that would mean automatic promotion for Hamilton from seventh to fourth.

Such a result would see Hamilton collect five points, instead of two for seventh place, and the Briton would therefore have more points than the newly crowned champion Kimi Raikkonen, whose Ferrari team was partying in the paddock as this latest controversy erupted.

Hamilton, who began the day four points ahead of his McLaren Mercedes teammate and defending double world champion Fernando Alonso, and seven ahead of Raikkonen, was long gone from the track when the drama began.

Reuters

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23770,00.html

[Gaz]

The problem with the fuel samples is relating to Fuel Temperatures, apparently if the fuel is stored above a certain temperature they gain extra horsepower, therefor extra performance. Could be an interesting few hours ahead

[Endless Dream]

the drivers wont be punished it will just be the constructors points taken away unfortunately

[AFII]

the drivers wont be punished it will just be the constructors points taken away unfortunately

A precedent was set 12 years ago at this race when Michael Schumacher, then driving for Benetton Renault, and David Coulthard who at the time was with Williams, were initially disqualified as their fuel did not conform to samples approved by the FIA after finishing first and second respectively. However, a week later the FIA chose to reinstate the drivers' points, while the teams were not allowed to keep the points in the constructors' championship.

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/motorspo...src=rss&feed=7

[FatTony]

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/motorspo...src=rss&feed=7

That really doesn't make sense. What they're saying is, you can cheat and get yourself a world champion, but you won't win the constructors. It was the same with Maclaren and Hamilton and Alonso. Guilty, but kept their points.

[AFII]

That really doesn't make sense. What they're saying is, you can cheat and get yourself a world champion, but you won't win the constructors. It was the same with Maclaren and Hamilton and Alonso. Guilty, but kept their points.

It isn't a fair sport, so who cares?

With fair I mean that everyone hasn't the same chance to win a race. Now it's only down to if you are sitting in the right car.

You can be the best driver by a mile but you wouldn't have a chance if you drive for a **** team.

Most motor sports are the same and that really don't make it that exiting.

[cobain]

This is bullsh1t! Hamillton, you lost, get over it. You'll win in a few years if you leave McLaren Mercedes. As for F1 ... It's becoming a farse.

Raikkonen, you da man! But what's wrong with these Finns? I swear to god that Sami and Jari are the only two Finns I've seen smiling. Raikkonen won the Championship ffs and didn't even smile. You have Jane Ahonen, a ski jumper, winning in all the competitions and has yet to break a smile ... Talking about being ice cold

[Gaz]

It isn't a fair sport, so who cares?

With fair I mean that everyone hasn't the same chance to win a race. Now it's only down to if you are sitting in the right car.

You can be the best driver by a mile but you wouldn't have a chance if you drive for a **** team.

Most motor sports are the same and that really don't make it that exiting.

It's been the same in F1 for as long as i can remember, teams rise and fall in that as seen with Renault and Honda this year they haven't made the same jump with some of the AeroDynamic packages and the changes to the Engines this year.

If you want to see the same cars racing each other then watch the A1 GP or the GP2 series

[kurtangle01]

THE race stewards at the Brazilian Grand Prix have launched an inquiry into fuel samples that could yet see British rookie Lewis Hamilton installed as drivers' champion hours after the race ended.

The stewards called upon the BMW Sauber and the Williams teams to send representatives to discuss issues arising from the post-race scrutineering.

If, as many observers believe, the two teams used fuel or had given fuel samples that in some way contravened Formula One's strict technical regulations, their drivers may be disqualified from the race result.

Since Nico Rosberg, of Williams, finished fourth ahead of the two BMW drivers, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, that would mean automatic promotion for Hamilton from seventh to fourth.

Such a result would see Hamilton collect five points, instead of two for seventh place, and the Briton would therefore have more points than the newly crowned champion Kimi Raikkonen, whose Ferrari team was partying in the paddock as this latest controversy erupted.

Hamilton, who began the day four points ahead of his McLaren Mercedes teammate and defending double world champion Fernando Alonso, and seven ahead of Raikkonen, was long gone from the track when the drama began.

Reuters

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23770,00.html

I think that it would be unfair to punish Raikkonenn for this and basically that's what would be happening. He's won the the F1 championship through great driving and even better team work between him and Massa today.

I'm also 100% certain that Lewis Hamilton would not want to be gifted the championship in this way. Yes he would win it and would become the first rookie to win the F1 championship but it would be a tainted win and it would be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

These things are best left now. Take constructors points away but don't punish the drivers.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Fair play to the Iceman Raikonnen

Top stuff, feel for Hamilton as it was his worst race of the season, shame to end the season that way.

He will only get better

[SouthAfricaRed]

Kimi Raikkonen has been confirmed as F1 world champion following an inquiry into the cars of BMW Sauber and Williams at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Race stewards investigated alleged irregularities with the cars' fuel, but decided to impose no penalty.

Had BMW Sauber and Williams been disqualified, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton would have come fourth and earned enough points to clinch the F1 title.

McLaren has said it plans to appeal to the FIA, the sport's governing body.

The problem that could have seen Hamilton installed as the first man to win the title in his first season was a fuel-temperature irregularity on the Williams and BMW Sauber cars.

A statement from the sport's governing body, the FIA, said the fuel in the cars was "more than [the permitted] 10 degrees below the ambient temperature".

But the stewards said in a later statement, issued more than six hours after the end of the race, that there was sufficient doubt about the fuel temperatures "as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty".

The McLaren team has told the BBC it intends to appeal against the stewards' decision.

A spokesperson said the team was not trying to challenge Ferrari's victory in the race, but wanted to understand the reasoning behind the decision.

Hamilton went into the race leading the title chase, but finished only seventh after a series of problems.

The Englishman, 22, dropped down to eighth on the first lap after running off the road trying to pass team-mate Fernando Alonso.

Then on lap eight he dropped to the tail of the field when his gearbox slipped into neutral, costing him 40 seconds before it started to work again.

Raikkonen led home team-mate Felipe Massa in a Ferrari one-two to clinch the title by one point from Hamilton.

Alonso finished on the same points as Hamilton, but the Spaniard was classified as third on countback.

Excluding the Williams and BMW Sauber cars would have risked turning one of the most exciting championship finales in F1 history into a farce.

But the stewards had the power to disqualify them, even though the advantage conferred would have had no bearing on the title race.

The total advantage for each car over the race distance was almost certainly no more than a second.

The FIA said Heidfeld's fuel was 13C lower than ambient at his first stop and 12C lower at his second.

Kubica's varied by 14C, 13C and 13C at his three stops, while Rosberg's was 13C and 12C out at his two stops.

Filling the car with cooler fuel can give a performance advantage.

Cooler fuel is denser, so either it can mean it takes slightly less time to refuel the car or marginally more can be added in the same time.

And it would give a slight power advantage for about three laps before it returned to ambient temperature out on the track.

There is some form of precedent not to exclude the cars.

In 1995, the Benetton-Renault of Michael Schumacher and the Williams-Renault of David Coulthard were initially disqualified from first and second places in the Brazilian Grand Prix because their fuel did not conform to samples approved by the FIA.

But a week later the FIA reinstated the drivers' points but docked the teams their constructors' points.

In that case, though, no advantage was gained by the irregularity.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/moto...ne/7055644.stm

[Neil Young]

Is anyone bothered about all the cheating in Formula 1 and how it appears to be rigged to favour Ferrari?

[Colemere]

McLaren are appealing the decision

[dww]

Is anyone bothered about all the cheating in Formula 1 and how it appears to be rigged to favour Ferrari?

I would be if I hadn't long ago accepted that it is basically a glorified soap. In this particular case I think Ecclestone is torn between cheating to get Hamilton to win which would be great for the F1 brand or continuing his traditional Ferarri bias.

[Parm]

Hamilton is a brilliant young driver but I'm happy the whole circus with Alonso ended up with both of them losing the title in this manner.

Congrats to Raikkonen.

yep well done to Kimi, he's kept his head down, mouth shut and just got on with it. He has desereved it, no one really talked him up about winning the title, he was the "distant" third choice. Think it was a few weeks ago when I thought he could do something when he battled Kovalinan for 2nd place and took it on the final lap, Kimi showed a real battling desire to get back in the title race.