Also, this may sound strange given my views on LH, but i feel bad for him, had a nightmare of a 100th race through no real fault of his own
Forgot about spain. Ok, if the rules are obeyed by the stewards, he should lose his 2nd place, and would finish about 5th. (i think it was Forza who did the maths)
I didn't like Alonso, he seemed like a whiny baby when he didn't get what he wanted at the start of his career. But when things are going good, he's possibly the greatest driver ever in F1, and quite likable as well. If he wins a few more WDC, he'll definitely be in with a shout of that mantle, because this is a very talented field compared with previous years.
Despite the fact I think Vettel has to be penalised, I agree with you! Whatever else it was, it wasn't dangerous and we all like to see all-out racing. But rules is rules even if the rules aren't particularly good ones. I can't see where else they can go other than to penalise, especially as the drivers had been warned about sling-shotting around corners using the XXL run-off areas. OK, that was mainly about Turn 1 but warnings is warnings!
I missed the first 7 laps, i didn't who did it either. From what i heard in commentary, he hit some debris.
And the stewards making the call will allow us to move on. Until the call is made, debate will rumble on.
Would Button have kept the place if Vettel had stayed on the track and Button had to tighten his line? It's all ifs and buts, he wouldn't have taken that line if Button wasn't there because it's slower, that's good enough for me. As long as you don't shorten the circuit I don't see the problem. Like I said earlier, if the FIA just chucked some gravel down there wouldn't be a problem, there are no safety issues there because it's a low speed traction area, it's not like they need a tarmac run off to slow themselves down before hitting a tree.
Double edged thing though isn't it? None of us would say that if gravel traps were moved back to the edge of the tarmac and our own favourite driver had his race ended because of a minor error or because somebody punted him off through no fault of his own. The tarmac areas are good for keeping the race going and for safety - but then we need rules as to what the drivers can & can't do on them. Back to square one.....
Yeah the argument is that the other series' today have all been doing it, and getting away with it. Hmmm bit of another headache for the stewards.
It does not matter what Vettel does on the run off area, whether he shortens or lengthens the track because he was out of the confines of the racing track and he gained an advantage by doing so, which is against the rules. What is more so is that it was a needless thing to do because Button's tyres had gone and Vettel could of easily overtaken him in a legal manner. If you are allowed to drive off the track to overtake a slower driver then it makes defensive driving rather pointless.
After thinking about this problem for five seconds, I have decided upon a simple solution... Simply pump water constantly around the run-offs of the track. This way if you step off, there's no instant race-end, but your tyres will cool at least, and at most you could spin. Think that's fair In wet conditions, blow snow on the run-offs