Monday, June 14, 2010

F1: What will it take for Lewis Hamilton to get a penalty?

I am very grumpy this morning. I'm shattered from a very busy weekend, and my general feeling of yuckness is not helped by events in Montreal at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. I've not yet seen all the race because we were out at a friend's First Communion yesterday, but Stephen can testify that I was fit to be tied on Saturday after qualifying. He may even have learnt some new sweary words.

Not only did Schumi not make the final pole position shoot out for the first time, but Lewis Hamilton ended up on pole as he was able to get in an extra flying lap by crossing the line with seconds of the session left. All well and good, but he didn't actually have enough fuel in the tank to do a flying lap, and then get the car back to the pits to give the required fuel sample. On the team's instructions, he stopped the car on the circuit.

The FIA weren't chufed about it and delivered what was effectively a tiny slap on the wrist - a $10,000 fine and a reprimand.

The difficulty is that this is not the first time Hamilton has played fast and loose with the rules this season. Remember that weaving in front of Vitaly Petrov at the Chinese Grand Prix?

Again, the stewards looked benevolently on that incident. It uesd to be Alonso (nicknamed Teflonso) who got away with everything. That mantle seems to have been inherited by Lewis Hamilton.

I asked the same question, what infringement of the rules it would take for Hamilton to get a penalty. My friend Josh (for whom I probably have to declare an interest as a fellow Ferrari fan) offered this suggestion:

He'll have to actually decapitate someone, and then parade the results around the track, and then speed in the pit lane, and then lie to the stewards about the whole affair despite it all being recorded on tape, and then admit about lying to the stewards...then he *might* actually get a suspended 1 place deduction for the Micronesia Grand Prix in 2055.


That, unfortunately, does not sound that implausible. I hope that nobody actually has to lose their head, though.....

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails