Roll up roll up!!!!!!!!! Where will lewis hamilton finish at the spanish gp?

It's also worth pointing out that McLaren took the second worst of the three options available to them in deciding to let Hamilton stop on track.

The worst would have been to tell him to slow down to safety car speeds once he crossed the start/finish line to start his qualifying lap, cruise the rest of that lap, and then cruise back to the pits on the subsequent lap. I believe this would have landed him seventh place, but it could well have screwed up the laps of those behind him or even caused a safety issue.

 

His car was only technically illegal for one lap. It's not like he was running dodgy bodywork, it was simply a lack of fuel in q3. I really can't see a single angle where the punishment can be justified.

 

While based on what I've read from you and from other sources he has clearly broken the rules (in much the same way as doing a purple sector while going past waved yellows is a breach of the rules) the car wasn't illegal if he had the required litre on board.

 

Oh yeah, and try explaining the logic behind that to people who were expecting a five-place grid drop.

No, the stewards decide "appropriate action" not "appropriate grid position" and their decision was that exclusion from qualifying was appropriate. I agree it was harsh but it was Hamilton/McLaren in Canada 2010 that necessitated the directive so if anyone can complain it's not McLaren.

 

Well, I don't make the rules - I'm just trying to interpret the decision. I think 'exclusion' is harsh but if they were going to exclude him it shouldn't be from Q3 it should be from the qualifying session. I think the decision is logical even if it's not fair but it's not unjustified. The stewards have the authority to decide the appropriate action and that's what they've done.

 

I agree. The offence was more akin to cutting a chicane given he only gained an advantage for one run.

 

My feelings exactly. Yet another embarrassment, no, make that just another embarrassment. Ho-hum... Next!

 

A nail in the coffin against stewards using their discretion then?

 

I don't think the violation is of the same magnitude as doing a purple sector under yellow flags. His car was illegal according to the regulations:

Running an illegal car is not like cutting a corner. It's far more serious. It is normal for cars to be excluded from races for being illegal and even banned from competing in a number of subsequent races.

I've just noticed Bob Bobbinz mistake earlier:

Qualifying is a practice session. It is called Qualifying Practice and therefore 6.6.2 applies to qualifying as much as to any other practice session.

 

I was expecting a five-place grid drop myself, and I'm glad we at least agree it was harsh.

What I'm saying that I assume they were seeking to justify as harsh action as possible (and I understand why they might want to, in a bid to stamp this out for good). As I explain above, at no point was the car illegal, so I cannot see the rules-based argument for disqualifying him from the entire session. Thus, the harshest punishment I believe they could possibly justify (even if I think the justification would be wrong), would be to delete the lap set during the stint he didn't complete, and then giving a five place grid drop because the team were found to have deliberately set out to gain an advantage by doing so.

 

Genji, you could make your 4000 post quiz all about why Hamilton should be dsq'd

 

So that's what Seb's evil plan was in the drivers meeting with regard to the stewards and their discretion with handing out punishments.

 

I think a breach of the rules which endangers safety trumps everything else, to be honest.

Ah, hadn't realised that. Still, that regulation only applies in this instance if a sample of fuel was required after Q3. Would it automatically have been required? I thought sampling was random?

 

Why has Kobayshi not got a penalty for stopping his car at the end of q2?

 

Genuine mechanical faults are okay. But he still woudln't have been allowed to drive in Q3 regardless as he didn't make it back to the pits.

 

He's not a McLaren driver.

 

What technical faults? I thought they did thattrick just to make sure that if anyone did not do a lap they would be ahead of them on the grid?

 

Nah, you're thinking Schuey Monaco 2006!

 

OK but I think it was illegal because, in order to provide a sample, the car needed to have a litre of fuel left in the tank after it had been driven back to the pits under its own power. Hamilton didn't have enough fuel to satisfy both those conditions and so, in my opinion, it was illegal.

I do think it must have been a simple error, though (I expected a technical issue on refuelling equipment but McLaren said it was a team member's fault). I can't believe McLaren (of all teams, following the Canada 2010 incident) would do it deliberately.

I think it was harsh but I don't think it was unjustified or wrong. What's unfortunate is that other transgressions sometimes receive much lighter punishment and it could have been balanced against those rather than a strict reading of the rules. On the other hand, stewards are humans and any two might have different opinions on the application of penalties. I think that's a part of sport that we just need to accept.

 

If the cars are fueled between runs, surely the fuel issue only makes his car illegal in the last run?

Disregarding that time is right.

But invalidating all his qualifying runs because of one error on one run?

Way harsh.