Lewis Hamilton has been called to see the FIA Stewards. We believe that this is because of the change of positions behind the Safety Car in the final laps of the race when Hamilton appeared to pass Trulli and Jarno retook the place because he may have believed he was entitled to it.
There are also rumours that BMW Sauber will protest Brawn’s diffuser because the original protest on Thursday was rejected because it was too late arriving.
Hopefully all this will not spoil what has been a terrific day of RACING in Albert Park.
Lest they all forget, RACING is what we do!!
I have read in several places that regardless of the result of the diffuser hearing the results from the first two races will stand. Is that true?
BTW Great GP. Enjoyed every minute except the Kubica/Vettel incident as that messed up my fantasy GP result big time!
Hi Joe, you are our connection to the paddock! It seems as if very few of the F1 news sources arranged for enough bandwidth for the season opener.
Please let us know as soon as you can, the outcome of the Trulli vs Hamilton 3rd slot decision.
Cheers!
Katie
Sorry, I’ve been trying to talk to people in the paddock. The Trulli thing was sorted out. Jarno went off the track off camera when the Safety Card boards came out. Lewis Hamilton could not stop and so passed the Toyota. Jarno then came back on and felt that he should have his place back. The stewards did not agree and Jarno got a 25-sec penalty and ended up 12th. Hamilton is third.
The stewards also came up with what looked like a very bizarre decision and blamed Sebastian Vettel for the collision with Robert Kubica. This was so strange that I went to ask the FIA and was told that the reason for the decision was that Vettel admitted that the accident was his fault. It did not look that way on the TV and Vettel paid for his misguided honesty with a drop of 10 places on the grid in Malaysia. He and the team will also share a $50,000 fine for continuing to drive with three wheels on his wagon. Vettel was instructed to continue by the team.
Rumor has it that Vettel will also get a 10 place grid penalty at the next GP. Is that accurate?
hMMMP what a mess
Assuming the diffuser issues diffuses (sorry), here is a trivia question: When was the last time a two car Grand Prix team finished first and second at an official World Championship event with only one sponsor shown on the car liveries?
And no, I don’t actually know the answer, but if it ever happened before, it surely must have been a very long time ago…
I’ve just shelled out my £25 for Grand Prix Plus. Can’t wait for your opinion on the Kubica / Vettel crash.
Vettel is paying for a misinterpretation of his comment. I think his “stupid” comment was referring to his off track crash that took him out of the race after the contact, as opposed to his contact with Kubica.
I blame Kubica’s impatience, attempting to pass a guy on worn tires on the outside, and not allowing enough room for the pass. From Vettel’s in car it’s obvious that Robert came down on the Red Bull.
[...] Hamilton under investigation Lewis Hamilton has been called to see the FIA Stewards. We believe that this is because of the change of positions [...] [...]
Being there in person, let me see with my own eyes that it was quite obvious Vettel cost Kubica a first place position in 2009. Putting that awful day aside, Kubica has great potential to win a championship. Perhaps not this season of 2010, but who knows in 2011?