My understanding was that this was written into the rules moving forward and shouldn't happen! Its pretty obvious its fuel because MW cinfirmed it was nothing serious as in Engine or Gearbox!
That was my thought too, that McLaren had put as little fuel in as possible, and told LH to turn the car off after his lap so that there was enough fuel left to make it legal. I hope he gets disqualified, it would be amusing seeing Maldonado on pole.
If it is fuel then thats that another McLaren mistake and they might get a penalty, its the only way they will learn to get the basics such a fueling a car right. On the other hand since they were almost 6 tenths ahead of 2nd and clearly didnt gain an advatage then a reprimand would be a possible punishment too.
Insane qualifying, 5 different cars in the top six, it's so tight this year. What was happening with Webber's voice when he was talking to Lee McKenzie? Reminded me of Steve McLaren's fake Dutch accent. Magnificent performances from Maldonado and Alonso in particular, especially compared to their team mates. Massa giving another masterclass in massively underperforming at your job and keeping hold of it somehow. Same excuses again from Button, "the balance was completely different today" he's said the same thing at pretty much every grand prix for the last three years. No idea what to expect from the race. If Hamilton can hold his lead into the first corner he should win, if he gets passed it could be anyone's. You always see drivers in Maldonado's position screw their starts up though, probably looking for another Alonso special to keep things interesting. Disappointed with Vettel's position but everyone's going to have difficult races this season, as long as he can salvage 5th or 4th it's a decent weekend. Lotus look strong again but I can't see them challenging on a track where it's so difficult to overtake.
The team told him to pull over. He'll be kicking the team, not himself. Great laps from all the top 3. Maldonado quick in all sessions and held it together in Q3 for one of the laps of the season IMO. Great boost for Williams. Alonso showing what a proper driver can do with a Ferrari.......... He'll be well pleased with that, lets see if the Ferrari updates will give them good race pace. Lotus will be strong, Vettel is expected to come through at some point. I think Maldonado will slip back but could prove to be a big thorn for some of the drivers. All ingredients for an intruiging race. Last 10/15 laps when all the stops are done will be really worth watching.
I have a funny feeling that Lotus will have a serious shot at winning. LH isn't good at tyre management, with how hot it is in spain, he'll fry the softs after a couple of laps, the pace on hards was far closer than it was on softs.
If he's done it to gain a competitive advantage then he needs to take the penalty. Following on from NNW's thoughts, if Whiting thinks Hamilton got away with the overtake in Bahrain when he should have been punished I also wonder if the stewards will take a particular mindset into any review of the situation.
Eh? Don't you understand the driver's input? Would you be saying this about the car if Hamilton's pace was about the same as Button's? If Maldonado had claimed Pole, would you be saying Williams have the fastest car, regardless of Senna's inability to come close to him at any point this weekend? Let me be clear: I do not have a 'favourite' driver â especially within the McLaren team who I would like to see do well; but Hamilton's pace was scintillating. Drivers can make a difference. This is why F1 typically employs roughly the 18 best drivers in the world at any time.
If McLaren did underfuel him his time should be deleted in my opinion, which would leave him 6th. Saying it's harsh isn't really the point, McLaren would've known exactly what they were doing, and they know it's against the rules.
Lewis must be shaking his team members going: "why!!!!! Why do you keep screwing me over you idiots!!!!!"
No no, he didn't put the fuel in the car!!!! If McLaren have ****ed up again, like they have countless times this seasons already for both him and Button with pitstops etc, he will be royally pissed off with them. He was so much quicker all they needed was an extra litre of fuel (assuming it was that) to make it round. Would Ron ever have let this happen?
The quali sessions are just as exciting as the races and the championship. That's what's making this such a cracking year so far; there's just so much variety!
It doesn't matter how much fuel is left, the point is that McLaren have tried cheating their way to a pole, when cheating wasn't needed, Hamilton was absolutely on fire anyway.
Wow. I'm excited and confused. I've no idea what's been going on the last few weeks; tried to catch quali but just missed it to see two of my three favourite drivers have the front row. I'm especially chuffed for Maldo but how did it happen?
What are you talking about? Do you think drivers should be let off because their teams underfill the car? Hamilton's the driver - if it's deemed illegal he needs to take the penalty.
