April 02, 2009

Hamilton Excluded From Australia Results!

Well, this is interesting.  Lewis Hamilton has been excluded from the results of the Australian Grand Prix due to his part in the incident that earned Jarno Trulli a 25second time penalty.

What the TV cameras saw, and what the stewards based their initial decision on, was Trulli's Toyota spinning behind the safety car, and Hamilton (rightly) passing the stopped Toyota.  Trulli then repassed Hamilton, which is against the sporting regs.

What we and the stewards didn't see, but a spectator with a video camera did, was Trulli rejoining the parade behind the safety car, behind Hamilton's McLaren.  Hamilton then slows down dramatically and stays at the slower speed, a manuever which led Trulli to believe that the McLaren was broken.  Trulli then passes Hamilton, which WOULD be legal if Lewis' car was sick.

So all of that clears Trulli and restores him to third.  But that's not why Hamilton was DQ'd.  He was excluded for, basically, lying to the stewards after the race about what happened.  The FIA's statement reads:

The Stewards having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29th March 2009, a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.

McLaren released a statement in the wake of today's hearing, saying that they do not intend to appeal.

So.  McLaren and Ferrari are now dead-even again... with zero points.  Trulli's third place adds six points to Toyota's haul.

It's never simple, is it?

Posted by: Wonderduck at 07:37 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I wonder why Hamilton did that. It almost sounds like he was trying to mouse-trap Trulli.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at April 02, 2009 11:20 AM (+rSRq)

2 Hamilton has had problems controlling his speed behind the safety car before, and been sniped at for it.  It could be something as simple as covering his asterix because of that.  Something that, apparently, backfired.

Posted by: Wonderduck at April 02, 2009 09:37 PM (tMdKd)

3 The team told Hamilton to let Trulli pass:
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090402110240.shtml

Apparently McLaren weren't clear on the overtaking rules either.

Posted by: pxcasey at April 03, 2009 02:33 AM (wa0pR)

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