It will shortly be announced that Pastor Maldonado has been given a five place grid penalty for driving into Lewis Hamilton at the end of qualifying in Spa. Hamilton has been reprimanded.
The punishment seems a little less than severe given what happened.
The stewards are having a laugh! You get the same penalty for a broken gearbox! WTF?
Both Hamilton and Maldonado get away with unbelievably light sanctions.
What does this bode for the future? Both drivers acted in a juvenile fashion and it is a real shame that the Stewards don’t appear to fully appreciate that the best way to prevent behaviour such as this is to not be lenient! I really hope that the FIA steps in and disciplines both drivers, otherwise such actions will be sanctioned in the future until such time as we have a serious accident and injury. Given all the adverse comment on the aggression between drivers in various series in the US, I had hoped that what is supposed to be the world’s top tier of racing would govern the actions of drivers in order to avoid a downward spiral in on-track attitude and behaviour. Shame on ALL involved; this was no racing incident but deliberate behaviour on the behalf of both drivers. I look at Hamilton’s move on Button in Canada in a new light now…
Yes it does. I was expecting at least a race ban
Unbelievable….. if it had been Lewis at fault there would have been uproar and most likely a much more severe penalty!
We were promised some time back that we would get some transparency in Steward decisions and evidence would be made public. The Stewards obviously saw something we didn’t otherwise Pastor would be facing a race ban.
How can we get this transparency?
Oh, the toga praetextus of vested interest.
I presume neither Frank nor Patrick are in charge any more. They fired infinitely better for less.
I got a cold wind of couldn’t care less from team bosses lately, just short of FU to real fans. I can understand what faces the sport with critical deals to do for all involved.
It was a great quali 2 and 3. Is this “don’t spoil the show” again?
If you can and have not seen it, look up that BBC docu with David Tremayne for an angle on how keeping lips tight perpetuated murderous losses amongst drivers not a blink ago.
I was half way to arguing it could have been a stupid line by MAL, but he was the one who could brake.
Ridiculous. Compare this to any penalty to Hamilton this year, or to Schumacher through his career… Parking-gate was unsportsmanlike but nowhere near as dangerous and malicious as this. I actually like(d) Maldonado but I’d take away his superliscence for that crap. It’s like a sucker-punch after the whistle in hockey.
Sorry to say it, but the idiot in the incident was again HAMILTON!
Terra,
Rubbish
The stewards reprimanded Hamilton. This is a clear case of what we call in the US, DWB, Driving while Black. Maldonado clearly impeded Hamilton at the Chicane but then he was on a flying lap so he is not obliged to get out of the way. But by the same token Hamilton is entitled to pass him. The subsequent collision was CLEARLY caused by Maldonado who had no real reason even to pass Hamilton.
To be honest, I am getting sick and tired of the stewards constantly interfering and they pick on Hamilton. It HAS to be because he is black. It pains me to say that, but I can’t see any other explanation. The incident with Kimi in 2008 is another classic case. Not only did he give the position back, but because of another car, I forget who now, Kimi managed to repass him. Then Kimi crashed all on his own. So no one was impeded, or fouled, but they had to give the race win to a guy following along in a different county. It’s sickening!
It seems to me that Lewis was more than justified in muscling his way by Pastor at the chicane, and maybe a little naughty in jinking towards him after La Source. Was a reprimand deserved? Maybe, a little harsh perhaps but he did break the rules. As for Maldonado’s penalty for deliberately ramming another car, it is a disgrace, he should be on his way home.
Hamilton started it by his reckless actions in the chicane and then La Source. Maldonado’s actions were just as stupid. The same penalty should have been given to both – whether 5 grid spots or 1 race or out for the remainder of the year.
One of these days Hamilton is going to kill someone by his reckless driving. You can be aggressive without being reckless – something that Hamilton has not learned.
I just don’t see how Hamilton can be held responsible in any way for this incident. His jink towards Moldanado could be nothing more than the following the line that all the others were following at that point, he turned away and gave plenty of room. Moldanado was being aggresive by following very closely and then deliberately driving into Hamilton. I’m afraid that I have to agree with MartinH, derogatory comments from Mansell vis Hamilton, must cast serious doubt upon his suitability for the role of steward.
How accurate are the timestamps of the FIA statements?
I ask because both Maldonado’s penalty and Hamilton’s reprimand have a timestamp of 14:48:00 which, if done to the nearest second, would mean Hamilton has been reprimanded for being driven into. I hope I’m wrong because it just seems odd.
It seems the stewards have completely lost the plot. Schumacher was disqualified for a whole season for turning into JV in 1997. Only a few weeks ago a driver was recommended to have his racing licence revoked for a retaliatory collision at Silverstone IIRC.
PM should have at least a race ban and rest of the season banned under suspension. And just how the stewards came up with a reprimand for Hamilton in all this I struggle to work out. Much like the penalty for weaving in Malaysia. There is the horrible undercurrent of politics in all of this…
@MartinH possibly, but I also think a big part of it is jealousy of his talent. That race with Kimi was awesome!
This reminds me of the “boys, have at it” nonsense from NASCAR. Perhaps Maldonado’s temperament would be better suited to that series.
Maldonado did “una latinada”. Thats the way latins drive here in Maimi. If you pass them and for some freaking reason they do not liked the way you did it, they pass you again and cut you off. No matter thet they were driving slow on the left (the passing lane), just the fact that you “dared” to pass them is enough.
So I was not surprised Maldonado did that.
Oh dear, there seems to be supporters here not fans! Let the stewards do their job for heavens sake. They have so much more information than we do and yet so many of those on here know better. I didn’t like what I saw from either of them after the finish line but, that’s only what I saw. Leave it to the pits lads and sort it. H.
I’ve watched it again a couple of times – the confusion started at the Bus Stop.
To all intents and purposes, it really looked like Maldonaldo was coming into the puts so Hamilton continues on the racing line. Then for some reason (presumably an engineer yelling in his ear to keep going), Maldonaldo turns back to the racing line by which time Hamilton is halfway past. That seemed simple enough.
The incident after the flag is bizarre. From the head on shot we were shown, Maldonaldo definitely turns left so what was he thinking? The stewards clearly know more than we do hence the leniency, ie not telling him to park it and go home for the weekend. Unfortunately we have a precedent here – Abu Dhabi last year with Alonso having a swerve at Petrov after the race ended, again unpunished, although Alonso is a bit better driver and executed the swerve, not the contact. So high-speed banger racing is now acceptable?
This is really outrageous, especially considering Maldonado’s record. I was expecting nothing less than a race ban, if not multiple ban for his contact with Hamilton.
It was road rage, period.
Pastor made a silly move, and deserved some kind of penalty, and I don’t think Hamilton was blameless – and it seems the stewards agree. If you are going to make contact with another driver while he is trying to finish his lap then you might get some heat…not that that exonerates Maldonado.
Joe I sense you have gone a little tabloid on this one – you are normally above sticking the boot in while it is stylish to do so but you were straight in there this time with the Monaco WSR incident. Has Maldonado wronged you at some point?
See the incident and judge yourself:
From reading some of the comments it appears that Hamilton got reprimand bt the stewards too. Why? What on earth did Lewis do wrong?
Other than being thrown out of 2nd place in the championship, what did Schumacher receive for driving into Villeneuve on purpose? This incident in some ways was even worse. Malice was involved, rather than a last clutch at the straws to win. Maldonado’s penalty should be at least what MS received. Five places is a joke.
“less than severe” say that again! And here was me expecting something like a race ban for this race and maybe next race for Maldonado. Schu got more for pushing Rubens into the wall in Hungary last year!
Sure, Hamilton might have done some hand signals that surely did nothing to calm everything down. But driving into him like that … we were lucky no one was hurt in that incident.
Over here in the Czech Republic we had a guy doing that on the highway (by chance the ppl in the other car managed to miss all trees next to the road) recently. He got 12 years in prison for that.
Make roads save FIA, but this is hardly setting an example to follow.
I’d like to avoid pointless name-calling or petty insults and here are my thoughts on this:
1. I’ve looked at the incident from different angles and the first twitch from the McLaren looked to be either from grip (seems less likely), or moving out of Maldonado’s way after noticing him (more supported with interviews).
2. The second movement that Maldonado defenders have noted, can be shown from Hamilton’s onboard shot. After moving to the left, Hamilton simply follows the bend of the track. During this, there’s no movement in the steering wheel while he’s ‘waving’ at Maldonado to his right.
3. Then came the contact, where Maldonado’s Williams seems to going straight; along a right bend. Whether he was simply slipped up while making a rude ‘gesture’ to Lewis or overtaking him, it was way too close for post-session.
With the time on the official sanctions, you can see that Hamilton got his reprimand from the La Source incident. We can therefore take the Bus-stop chicane incident out of the equation. However, I’d like some insight as to why the reprimand was given.
Towards the complaints of sanctions and consistency from a number of years ago and now, I’d like to point out that certain things changed in the organisation. Post-Mosley, there seems to be a bigger promotion on being fair, etc.
A clip round the ear from Patrick should sort Pastor out! Although I love the rough stuff in Nascar it’s worth remembering that the tit-for-tat Edwards and Keselowski crash at ‘Dega hurt somebody in the crowd. Feuds are good for TV but could so easily turn to disaster, I’m shocked that the penalty is less than you’d get for an engine change. About the silliest decision since the Lewis and Kimi non-incident here at Spa in 2008.
Joe,
Have you looked at the replay?
When it happened I was convinced that Maldonado’s was fully responsible for the contact on the straight. But after watching the replay several times, it sure looks like Lewis is partly responsible.
Here’s a low quality video of the incident:
I thought the FIA was supposed to be interested in safety. Maldonado should have been banned for the rest of the season at least. Of course the Hamilton haters say Lewis was at fault. The track bends right, Hamilton is well to the left of the centre of the track and moving left at the point of contact. Quite how he contributed to the crash is beyond me. Had the two drivers been in each others cars there is no way Maldonado would have been penalised.
Maldonado was annoyed because he left the door wide open at the chicane and Lewis drove through the gap. Lewis was at the apex when Maldonado started to turn into take a later apex. That is called overtaking. Maldonado’s reaction to being fairly overtaken was appalling. The FIA’s decision is a hundred times worse. Absolutely pathetic.
MartinH: oh dear…..
Bit fishy………..water on my tyres? Water on everyones tyres, no?
Terra Nova, you are either blind, venezuelan, or stupid.
Yeah mate, definatly Hamiltons fault…. *sigh*
Some people make me sick, including Maldonado. It would be so bloody awesome if Williams didn’t allow him to race tomorow, out of principle. I know, never gunna happen.. but, yknow, Williams cant have him thinking he can do this just because he gets angry. He has a reputation of being dangerous, he needs to be taught a stern lesson, or have his licence revoked.
This is high speed, non contact sport, people get killed or seriously injured when wheels and cars start bouncing off one another.
What gives it an even worse taste in the mouth, is that it was done after the session finished. There was no racing going on, just pure wrecklessness on Pastors part.
I can’t understand the thinking behind giving a reprimand to Hamilton.
The Williams was sooo slow in the penultimate turn, and took a line so far to the right (for what reason? to gain a bit more speed in the straight for another hot lap? That would have been useless anyway with his team-mate and another car still in front of him!) that being in Hamilton’s car you would have thought that Maldonado was going for the pitlane.
It was just the logical thing to do for Hamilton to pass him in these circumstances, and so it was Maldonado that made contact both times, and the second time what he did was so obvious that an equivalent move in any non-motor sport would justify a multiple-event ban, so I can’t imagine how you can justify just a five-place penalty here when there can be lives at risk with every high-speed collision.
I can’t believe how people and the stewarts continue to harass Hamilton that way. Sure, he is hot-headed and isn’t always innocent (like weaving in front of Petrov in Malaysia), and sometimes he is too optimistic (on Schumacher and Maldonado at Monaco, on Button at Montréal), but some other times people just automatically assume he is the one responsible though anyone who has ever try to overtake in a go-kart know it’s not the case (on Massa at Monaco – entirely Felipe’s fault, and now on Maldonado).
This cannot go on or F1 is risking its credibility, you cannot systematically penalise one of the rare drivers who actually try some moves, especially when the moves are clean and legitimate. That rule on avoidable collisions is too often misinterpreted by the stewarts to penalise drivers they don’t like, and it needs to be rewritten, because if it was applied like it’s applied to Hamilton nowadays, the victims of Eddie Irvine in the past would have been penalised en-masse that way!
Terra Nova, you’re completely wrong!
Hamilton was reprimanded for bullying Maldonado with two little tiny touches at the final chicane. Maldonado was given the penalty for blatantly driving into the side of Hamilton, a totally different incident that warranted a more severe penalty than a reprimand. Obviously, there is much debate over this being a little light on the punishment, but the stewards seem to think it is enough.
Michael Schumacher was thrown out of a world championship for trying to deliberately crash into Jacques Villenueve (his title rival) but that was under race conditions. This was in qualifying AND after the chequered flag, so it would have been a bit crazy to throw Maldonado out of the title, not that it would do him any difference.
On safety grounds, Maldonado should have been fined, given a race ban (or more than one race in my opinion) and made to do some kind of community service style program on road safety awareness to make up for his actions. There is no excusing that kind of activity. If he’s hit Hamilton any harder there is a chance that the McLaren could have been completely mashed into the barrier as acceleration is at full throttle heading up to Eau Rouge. Lewis Hamilton (or indeed marshalls, fans or Maldonado himself) could have been seriously hurt in this completely avoidable incident.
The next driver who makes such a stupid move will most likely not get a mere 5 place grid penalty, of that we can be certain.
They must have been watching ‘Senna’, and now they think the best way to show you’re dedication to the sport is to deliberately ram other cars.
Can’t see what Lewis did wrong really and his move certainly wasn’t dangerous but Pastor’s move was shocking and the penalty seems very lenient. The previous that you mentioned is a little worrying too. Williams have enough trouble with out that sort of liability in the car.
I’m no Hamilton fan by any stretch, I think he’s a bit of a whiner. Talented beyond doubt, but never had to work his way up from a smaller team.
That said, I cannot see how he even deserved a reprimand. He was racing, it’s what drivers do. As Ayrton Senna said, “By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win.”
The gap was there, the opportunity was there and Hamilton took it. As he should.
What Maldonaldo did was not racing, it was road rage. That sort of idiocy on the road would have seen a license revoked in many countries. I like Maldonaldo, but that was beyond what you’d expect from a Formula 1 driver. If Hamilton had of pulled a Mansell and thrown Pastor up against a wall, I would not have blamed him.
Hamilton was a bit rude shoving through but it was racing after all, both were on hot laps and his move didn’t make any difference to maldonado’s fate.
But the footage I’ve seen shows maldonado deliberately ramming hamilton. That should be a suspension of the superlicence at least!!! It wasn’t even in a racing context, it was sheer road rage!!!!
The FIA and stewards lost their teeth long ago on things like this. The incidents I’ve witnessed over the years which have gone unpunished can all be used as precedents and I bet the FIA wouldn’t want to compensate a multi-million earning driver for lost income/sponsorship/career. A couple of drivers in particular come to mind, setting bad examples for the kids as to what you can do and get away with.
Did anyone else notice that on Lewis’s onboard camera shot, where he appeared to turn to the right as Pastor came up to him? From his comments in the post race interview, Lewis clearly knew Pastor was coming up alongside him in an unusual manner for the end of a qualifying session, yet Hamilton appeared to move in towards him. That’s the only reason why I could see the Stewards reducing Maldornardo’s penalty, if they felt that that move from Lewis played a part in the incident.
Hamilton’s fault?! You mad?! Pastor should be nothing short of banned for a race or 2. Great point above with regard to Schumi and other penalties that was given for less dangerous actions. Would love to see the data from Pastor’s steering….feel that would be enough evidence to ban the plonker!
Once again, the stewards are consistent, in their inconsistency. Ridiclous to get a 5 place penalty for that bit of nonsense.
Who are the stewards this meeting, and who is the ” ex driver ?”
@Terra – You must have seen something nobody else did. How was Hamilton at fault? It’s not physically possible to get alongside someone at that corner unless they are well off the racing line. Maldonado was embarassed at his mistake and reacted like a five year old. He’s lucky not to get a ban. Five grid positions for a clown that lives in the midfield anyway is pathetic. I’m not sure what Hamilton was repremanded for as he was just completing his flying lap and Maldonado got in his way.
Maldonado has to ultimately become a superstar to even begin to justify any continuance of that behaviour.
He probably did expect Hamilton to jink away(I wouldn’t have, it is Hamilton), but no excuse for that risk for no reward, some erratic swerving once passed to show displeasure would have been far better for the sport. He may have harmlessly just watched Days of Thunder recently though and thought the sport needed some more Hollywood.
Completely inadequate discipline. Suspect that Pastor was attempting a two tyre bump which had bad consequences. But he should still miss the race AND get say a ten-place grid drop at the subsequent race.
I did not see Hamilton do anything, but the stewards must have. If you are a fan of a particular driver, you will always think that they are over-punished. But Hamilton must realise that he is a particularly aggressive driver, which is a quality until it goes wrong, then everyone whinges. As an Englishman living in Australia I can’t help but notice the British mainly anti-German F1 news reports, in particular against Schuey. But I am sure that German or other nation’s fans might also have a target man in Lewis because he is English AND very very good, but like Schuey, a bit naughty at times.
I love Hamiltons cockamamy story about why he swerved at Maldonado shortly before Maldonado decided to try to push him off the track. Sure he did the wrong thing and sure he deserved a harsher penalty but to say that Hamilton was totally blameless is ridiculous.
I think the stewards pick on Hamilton not because he’s black but just like Senna and Schumacher before him he is a bully on the track. That sort of thing went out when Senna hit the wall.
Personally I enjoy watching Hamilton drive, he is a real racer, and that is bound to end in tears from time to time.
For me Maldonado should have been on his way home after a move like that, it was deliberate and dangerous, I for one don’t want that kind of behaviour creeping into the sport.
Borrowed this from a forum I frequent, however I think it shows just how badly Maldonado chopped across Hamilton, rendering a 5 place grid drop an utter joke.
http://makeagif.com/media/8-28-2011/cm7_Qa.gif
I can only hope Frank Williams gives him the dressing down this act of lunacy deserved from the Stewards
I was sitting in the grandstand in front of which the incident happen (Silver 1); small debris from “he touch” flew into the grandstand (a lot of it on the track). At first, it seemed no one got hurt.
Two minutes later, a first-aid team rushed in. From what I could see, a gentleman was laying down, bleeding from a scratch to the head. They stitched him and they took him away – for further care, I presume. He seemed ok, he was walking on his own – even if he was wearing a plastic collar for keeping his neck fixed. Police asked a few questions around.
It looked like a minor injury, but shortly after he was carried away, it struck me: the outcome of the incident could have easily been much, much worse.
Firstly as a fan of LH is ridiculous to say it’s coz I is Black. He is not innocent in this as he was reacting to PM by turning into him as they slowed…Sadly PM isn’t as good as him at playing chicken..
Still, that aside, the incident was a low speed one outside race/qualifying conditions and the result was so little damage that a bit of duct tape was sufficient
Such a non event and possibly a sign of how PC we all are these days that we get so easily outraged by such minor misdemeanours..
The penailties were about right IMV
The precedent was set at the GT1 Silverstone TT round earlier in the summer with Richard Westbrook & Stefan Mucke:
No penalties were applied, even though the stewards suggested Mucke’s license be revoked.
Maldonaldo’s claim that it wasn’t intentional is laughable. I think he’s sealed his reputation as an underhand driver – just a shame he drives for my favourite team.
For me this was 9/10ths Maldanado, 1/10th Lewis. I can see why the red mist descended on Maldanado, but watching the replays Lewis does seem to jink slightly as well.
Probably the right penalty for Lewis, mild penalty though for Maldanado. For me that was worse than many of the Schumi incidents and reminded me of a wild Irvine in his early years.
Why aren’t the stewards sharing more of the data that they have – at least the in car footage (I can understand why telemetry is kept back)
to add to Joes comment Terra Rubbish!
Terra would you like to enlighten us Terra to why it was Hamilton’s fault?
MartinH,
You are so far over the top with this hackneyed rot.
@Terra Nova,
I assume that’s sarcasm, right?
Maybe they decided Maldonado simply intended to sweep accross Hamilton’s bows in a pointed manner, and misjudged it by a few inches?
Difficult to see what Lewis did wrong, though.
The gravity of this incident was pretty obvious from all those at the scene who should know. So why the light punishment?
I think it was Frank Williams who said F1 was a sport on Sunday afternoon and a business the rest of the time. Well this did not take place on Sunday afternoon.
So this was a business decision and the business is keeping Williams sponsor from running away and taking his cheque book with him.
Wouldn’t be surprised if all have been briefed and there is a different tune being played when the show starts in 25 mins.
I wait to see with interest.
Ps not sure if you are going to get all of that. Bloody iPhone keyboard!
If “Axu” is correct, and a spectactor was injured, Pastor should have been banned for at least one race. That has got to be one of the softest punishments for dangerous driving EVER.
If Lewis had done the same thing, half of you would be foaming at the mouth ….. >:(
If I were Frank Williams I would have fired Maldonado on the spot…
I really did not dig Maldonado’s post race talk with the BBC boys. I once shared my flat with an ex merc boy from Columbia – he could have been my father just about in years, seriously mellowed guy, he got old, got a family to look after, scrapped it selling adverts, he had run away to do this, was genuine – insofar – towards me, but who was i to know his past. I was maybe 20 at the time. But i learned from him the south american BS swagger. (comes in handy lately, too many kiddo idiots watched Scarface since then) That is exactly the wrong vibe i got from MAL. They have a whole different way of saying FU, a turn of the head, a nod, killing the eye contact just after they make their point, after which you do not count. Shoulders hunch a bit more. Little signals to mean “you are not me or us”. These things mean a lot in their body language speak. Compare with any other driver when they mess up. Even if they do not think they did. You could say “oh, just a cultural thing”. No it bloody is not, if you face down some guy like that who is upset. It simmers.
No grace.
My mate would have slapped this driver something rotten. My mate also gave me a good friendly kick up the rear when i needed it.
The camera pictured a man in Williams Nomex. I saw a thug.
Wtf?
PM blaming humid track conditions!?!
What lame excuse is that
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/14694056.stm
I love the fact that people are trying to suggest that Lewis was at fault! I suppose there are a lot of Lewis bashers out there who think that every incident he is involved in is 100 percent his fault, but trying to pin the blame on Hamilton for this one is really pushing reality! It seems some people think that a slight “back off” jink from Lewis is as bad as Pastor ramming another car. Come on guys get real, and can you imagine the uproar if it had been the other way round! There would be an angry mob with flaming torches and pitch forks outside the McLaren motorhome demanding Lewis’ head!
Hummm. Show is over. Can I say “I told you so”?
Whatever, they should send PM to fibers school. I have never seen anything so unconvincing.
My first reaction was that Maldonado was stupid. At first I thought it was for deliberately hitting Hamilton but having now looked at the replay many times and listening to the statements of both drivers, it now seem more like that Maldonado wasn’t paying attention.
Here’s my reasoning behind all of this:
- Hamilton’s first movement right was that he had accelerated. The back end moved the car, not the steering. This suggests Hamilton was travelling slowly
- Hamilton’s second movement right was following the curve of the road
- Maldonado’s movement left was him having moved past the slow Hamilton and returning to the racing line. It was more movement than letting the car go back to the left within the curving of the track. But it was that Maldonado wasn’t paying attention, possibly due to being annoyed at either himself or Hamilton from the Bus Stop incident. Basically Maldonado didn’t realise that Hamilton had sped up from his La Source exit speed and was therefore still alongside.
A malicious move on Hamilton would have had more steering from Maldonado than occurred.
Now, that might explain why Maldonado only had a 5 place grid penalty as well. Still not sure on Hamilton’s reprimand unless the Stewards thought that Hamilton’s jink was “a message” to Maldonado. But what message did Hamilton need to send?
A different take on this:
Lewis is definitely getting a sympathy vote here. His (paraphrased) “i never get to finish a race this year” on air, to which DC noted only two DNFs so far, was hilarious. MartinH’s note on DWB, above, suddenly seems all so true
Is Lewis playing for effect? He’s plenty smart enough, and got the humor to mess about like that. What better way to discard the mantle of arrogance he so uncomfortably assumed not a little while ago? I mean with crap like this happening to him, i simply ache to see him messing up RBR’s day, well one of those two cars, anyhow. That and i honestly think he’s getting a better driver quickly now (no empirical evidence, just liking his style more) has got me off the fence.
Two parting shots:
Something is not right at Williams. Stab in the dark: Adam Parr is simply not the right stuff. Actually, for his straw man defense of the Sky deal, he can go stick his head etc. . . save that that must be where his head is, to have come out with such rot. Not letting that one go for breaking my manager idiotometer.
I so dearly hope that Lewis has taken to heart the idea that F1 needs more irreverence and humor. Lead on, others will follow. Quite sure he’s got more than half a clue. Think about it, every second weekend next year, broadcast will be PPV, so the boys can let rip with profanities and all the stuff you can air on HBO but not before the watershed in the UK. I mean, the sponsors won’t care, will they, they’re not getting the audience they intended to signal, just us F1 lot who only care that the livery doesn’t get too ugly.
Very thorough article on HBO here: http://www.economist.com/node/21526314
Not to drift too far, but if F1 genuinely could sustain itself on PPV only, exclusively, worldwide, maybe a lot more fun could be had. (does anyone know a bank l i could heist with, say, 6 billion in used 50s lying around?
)
Just one more thing,
I was far too harsh to call Maldonado a thug. I don’t believe that. But he really has to stop acting like one. I hope somewhere amongst friends family and management he has someone savvy he listens to. – j
Reading elphino’s comment – and i shall not start arguing the thing over again,
there is a Australian company called Locata, who use WiFi frequencies to track things like industrial machinery to millimeter accuracy over large areas. It’s just been approved for general civilian distribution.
We have telemetry, all sorts of that, camera angles aplenty (from which we could also take photogrammetric readings, at a pinch). But i think accurate direct real time spatial track information would be a big advantage. Not least in unraveling multi car incidents. I do presume GPS is being used, but i have no knowledge how, or where or what is drawn from that other than the track order given to teams and now on live timing website. The Locata stuff is considered to be far more useful, which is why it’s been kept out of public hands for a few years.
Maybe something similar is hashed together already. Teams certainly use LIDAR (RADAR for terrain using lasers) to map tracks.
This could have a bigger upside: the more mapping you do, the safer you can run on new tracks. All this tech ought to be turned on bringing back tracks we miss. Technology is precisely the thing humans use to avert danger. It’s not like we have to run about bolting armco or removing lamp posts any more, thankfully. I am a little biased against over – emphasis of low tech solutions when they are simply the obvious ones, like do not carry a kitchen knife pointing outwards . .
with regards elphino’s comment, i absolutely do think you can set a course to collide, knowing where the car in front intends to be, and it’s not all dramatic side swiping. Simple ballistic trajectory plotting. High school calculus, or advanced driving skills entry requirement. But water under bridge now. 100 lashes of the clue stick for Maldonado, and move on, i hope.
John (Other)
GPS is already being used by Race Control. Click here and you can read about it in the FIA InMotion magazine.
Elephino,
Watch the head on video of the incident. In about 4 seconds Maldonado went from being in the middle of the right hand half of the track to hitting Hamilton to putting his left side wheels off the track on the grass. That is a deliberate move. Why would he take the racing line when they are crawling back to the pits? Hamilton moved left off the line when he saw Maldonado start to pass and gave him the line.
Steven Roy,
Correct assessment.
I didn’t see qualifying live, just some Youtube videos that FOM somehow managed to not take down. The first one I saw was an angle nearly from the front – in that one it looked like Hamilton moved into Maldonado. But then I found Hamilton’s in-car view and in that one it looked completely like Maldonado’s fault.
Honestly, I can’t come to a conclusion about it. The two views look completely different to me and leave me confused.
csempere109
My view is that Maldonado lost his temper. He has long been a fiery driver and this was another example. Lewis did not expect him to appear where he was. It is obvious to me that Lewis’s move to the right as the action of a man on his slowing down lap, nothing untoward at all. He then saw Maldonado was there and went back to get out of the way. Maldonado then drove into him. I think it was deliberate and deserved a much stronger punishment than it got. As to Lewis being punished. My feeling is that he no longer knows what to say to stewards because he gets into trouble when he tells the truth and when he does not. So he is always on the defensive and that does not come across well and they made a decision based on that, rather than on the evidence, which is why I think it was a bad decision. I do not believe that he did anything wrong in that case.
Maldonado not paying attention? Spare me please. The guy should have a one race ban, it was not only dangerous but stupid, see how close to the armco he got after hitting Hamilton? I think I know what Patrick would have said if the car came back less a corner or two.
Tony G,
Absolutely agree.
Hi Joe, everybody..
P Montanaldo’s brain fade made L Hamiltons antics look like what they are.
Racing.
Thank A. Newey we don’t have the likes of a Mr. J. Villenueve going around anymore killing martials and out there to put people into trees. Or 7 times world champions M. Schumacher trying to kill former teammates. Oh sorry he is still there. Showing magic without turning into people.
Brilliant!
I actually watched most of the spa race, this is surely a track that sorts the men from the boys driver wise it seems. Seeing Nico Rosberg burning everyone off with his smoking merc mobile was genuinely exiting!
As for Mr. Pastor Montanaldo, if you actually sideswipe someone on the road, you are in big trouble. Mr D. Coulthard’s quote of mindless was spot on. Please don’t do it again.
BTW I had a fantastic photo that has not been published, but our gracious host had veto on this one!
Welcome back F1!
BTW without reading all the comments, so perhaps this has been brought up, but surely williams pltd or whatever they are called these days must be liable for the damage by their employees vehicle in a collision. I am not a lawyer.
There may be an acronym for that.
?
Anyhoo, once active tecnology is reinstated, which may be never, Williams can dust out the old tech and rule again. Lets get a shareholder rally to force Williams to do this. Is this not how public companys work?
I hereby call on Williams Plc or whatever to do the right thing by their shareholders and buy Lewis Hamilton a big jetski and pay McLarens carbon fibre bill, and perhaps spend all their money on a public service program instead of racecars.
BTW I have worked out what we do about noise in racecars, and roadcars, once we are all electric. Which may be never.
A little mini V12, like nerds build on the internet, as some little auxilliary cooling pump thingo. Pipe it through a amplifying muffler, and bingo, you have a cool sounding noise that rises and falls with drive!
Please send all future royalties via Joe.
Maybe joining this discussion too late, but the fact is that the stewards reprimanded Hamilton. In the race, the stewards took no action against Kobayashi, even though it appeared that he drove into Hamilton. It seems clear that in both cases the stewards had evidence suggesting that Hamilton was partly at fault. That initially seems puzzling, but I wonder whether the explanation could lie in what Maldonado said about Hamilton always ‘moving’?
I seem to have picked up suggestions in the past that the other drivers feel that Hamilton deliberately twitches his car sideways in tight situations, presumably to intimidate them into giving him more room, letting him though rather than being crashed into, etc. Not that he is the only offender in this, but possibly the biggest. I can only think that the two decisions by the stewards indicate that they they share these misgivings and were giving Hamilton a warning. His extraordinary apology to Kobayashi may indicate that McLaren have told him to clean up his act in this regard.
My theory for the Maldonado collision was that possibly each driver was making a petulant gesture towards the other, Hamilton’s a minimal twitch, Maldonado a major lunge. Neither intended there to be an actual collision, but because they did it simultaneously M hit H instead of narrowly missing him as intended. Just a theory, but it would explain the less serious than expected penalty for M and the minimal but unexpected penalty for H. [I assume a reprimand constitutes a penalty, as it will be taken into account in assessing any future case?]
Anthony,
I think the stewards decision in the Maldonado case was not a good one. The Ham/Kob decision was better.
I hate quoting myself but there are a couple of comments about what I said that weren’t actually what I said.
Re Maldonado moving to the left: “It was more movement than letting the car go back to the left within the curving of the track.”
So as can be seen, I did not suggest that it wasn’t a deliberate move. What I have suggested is that it was not Maldonado’s intention to hit Hamilton. It was a stupid move from Maldonado whether intentional or not.
As for taking the racing line back to the pits, that would be to not get crap on the tyres as they may be required for the race the next day. And/or, again as I mentioned earlier, he wasn’t paying enough attention.
None of this explains Maldonado’s odd line into the last corner.