I see that after the race both Pastor Maldonado and Jaime Alguersuari where given time penalties. Now I fully understand the one for Pastor Maldonado, the one for Alguersuari puzzles me a little. I always thought that if the driver being lapped was involved in a race for position then they did not have to jump out of the way of the lapping cars. Has this changed, and do they now need to jump out of the way within 3 blue flags? I still think the penalty for Alguersuari is a little harsh, as from what I saw on the Tv he jumped out of the way fairly quickly, but he must of past 3 blue flags. The one for Maldonado I think is too lenient, he was being a right plonker. Link to story: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96195
I think you have to jump out of the way by 3 blue flags regardless of the situation. Its when there's yellow flags involved too that it can get confusing
The entire dealing with all the blue flag infringements was baffling and inconsistent: Maldonado#1: Being a cretin and not even trying to get out of the way for a series of corners = Drive-through straight away. Petrov: Staying on the racing line not even trying to let Hamilton through, again for a series of corners until Hamilton went off line to get past = Nothing given. Maldonado#2: Continuing being a useless cretin and not getting out of the way or even trying = Investigated after the race and then given a time penalty. Alguersuari: Letting Webber through quickly and then holding Massa up for a bit = Investigated after the race and then given a time penalty. Senna: Was not shown live or in a replay so do not know what happened = Drive through straight away. I have no idea how all of these variations were decided.
Don't agree with this, If I recall Petrov held up Hamilton (he certainly did, can't disagree with that) for 1 series of corners, and then let off the throttle to allow Hamilton to pass. I personally can't see anything wrong with that, if Petrov didn't see Hamilton in his mirrors, or thought that Hamilton was too far back to let through, yes his misjudged it, but it wasn't a massive block, and then he let Hamilton through at the next possible opportunity. As for expecting Petrov to go off line, no way, most back markers don’t go off line, and if I were racing either would I. All that is required of them is to let the lapping cars pass, that’s what he did. He obviously didn’t go through more than 3 blue flags, otherwise he would of got a drive through. Alguersuari - It didn't seem to me watching on TV that he held up Massa much, he must of passed more than 3 blue flags, but they must of been very close together. Maldonado doesn't have a leg to stand on, he was a right plonker.
Petrov was certainly holding Hamilton up for more than one corner because I remember Brundle saying something like, "is he going to let him past now? No. Is he going to let him past now? No." It was enough to get him investigated anyway. I just can't see how hard it is to just be consistent, especially for blue flags; if you ignore three then drive-through. All of the drivers got investigated so you would presume that they all ignored three blue flags and yet some got drive-throughs straight away, others got let off, and other got looked at after the race.
the rule with blue flags used to be stick to your line, the leader has to find his way passed, after all his is supposed to be a lap faster. The problem is there are no rules regarding overtaking on a blue, if you're in the middle of a battle for 10th why should you jeopardise a precious point and gamble that letting through the leader by really easing off isn't gonna mean you're gonna lose that 10th place by 11th following 1st through. They should make it a rule that you can't overtake someone who is on a blue. I also think there may be sight problems, blue flags on a blue sky are not easy to see from a laying down position, surely some sort of light could be put in the cockpit, and maybe radio it to the driver. Then, of course, we have wing-mirrors, with safety paramount I've often wondered why they don't make the mirrors regualted to a certain size at least 3x the current size, they are decoration at the moment with no purpose.
The drivers have yellow and red lights on their steering wheels and I assumed they had blue ones too, but I don't actually know for sure... hmmmmm
There is no Blue Flag notification in the cockpit - at least, not yet! Consistency The rule is simple. And it applies to any driver being lapped by another, regardless of what he is doing (including being involved in his own battle for position): a driver must allow the lapping car past after a maximum of 3 Blue Flags. It is therefore incumbent upon the driver being lapped to find the most convenient place to be passed, in order to lose as little time as possible. As ever, the difficulty is in applying the rule consistently. This will always be the case where refereeing decisions are required, regardless of the sport; and just like football, different matches will not all have the same referee! And even if they did, every situation is essentially unique, thereby still requiring significant subjectivity.
