Lewis Hamilton stripped of Belgian GP win - another asinine FIA decision
Felipe Massa has been given the Belgian Grand Prix win by the stewards
Lewis Hamilton has had his victory in the Belgian Grand Prix taken away from him by the Belgian Grand Prix stewards.
The stewards added 25 seconds to his race time for cutting the chicane while battling with Kimi Raikkonen, leaving him third behind Nick Heidfeld.
This is an absolute travesty of a decision which mocks the notion that the FIA stewards are fair arbiters of the sport.
Hamilton cut the chicane on lap 42 of the race while alongside Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen forced Hamilton off the track by swerving across the front of the McLaren. Hamilton had been entirely alongside the Ferrari going into the corner.
Hamilton then let Raikkonen past him and re-took the Ferrari driver at the following corner. Despite taking the standard course of action to let Raikkonen regain his position, the stewards have stripped Hamilton of his win.
After letting Raikkonen re-pass him, Hamilton was no closer to the Ferrari driver than he had been before they went into the chicane. I do not agree any advantage was gained by Hamilton.
I also think it is disgraceful the stewards feel Raikkonen was not at fault in forcing another driver off the track. A similar piece of driving at Eau Rouge or Blanchimont could have lethal consequences.
Whether the stewards have done this to keep the championship close or keep their friends at Ferrari happy, this is an utterly lamentable decision.
It comes only two weeks after the stewards avoided stripping Felipe Massa of a win at Valencia for a clear infringement of the rules. This very weekend we saw further evidence that decision was bogus.
It is quite clear Ferrari can rely on the FIA to give them a favourable hearing at appeals.
Updated championship standings
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boycott!!!!!!!!!!!!
Surely Mclaren will appeal this crap, I can’t believe this.
I honestly think that you should change the name of this site to MCLAREN-FANATIC.com cheers
I’m out of here
Ridiculous penalty decision. That I agree on.
But to say Kimi was at fault is as ludicrous.
What a complete crock of dogs muck this decision is. What a sham of a sport.
What is a driver meant to do if they cut the chicane? Where in the rules does it say “driver must drop back X seconds”? Would it have mattered where he had dropped in back behind Kimi?
Someone said on the live blog that Mclaren should boycott the next round - I heartily endorse that decision.
I might do it myself too.
I am absolutly speechless….Bloody hell. This is unbelivable. In my opinion Kimi was the one who forced Lewis off track at the bus stop. Not only that but he was swerving on the start finnish straight which I though was a bit out of order. Even Massa seemed upset with Kimi for his squeeze at the beginning.
Are the FIA actually idiots! I am unbelivably angry….Ahhhh! Stop trying to ruin the sport we all love so much with unfair and baised penalties….A farse….this will surely be overturned? Kieth?
Completely agree with SAV!!
I just logged on to get a laugh…
You cant win anything by cheating
Nobody forces you to visit this site Sav, bye bye!
Absolute travesty. One of the best ends to a GP I can remember and they have to rig it to give that useless little boy Massa half a chance. If he wins the 2008 WDC he will be the least deserving holder of the title.
Will somebody please start a credible alternative to F1 so I can follow that instead?
Kimi did not force Hamilton off the track, Kimi had the line completely. Just because Hamilton braked late and had a wing in front means nothing, he wouldn’t have made the corner anyways. Hamilton did the same thing in France to Vettal, he should really learn how to pass…drivers aren’t supposed to pull over for you like Massa did in germany.
Also, agree with Sav.
one of the best races in years has now been spoilt by a bunch of
idiots.
lets just give the title to ferrari and be done with it and save all the trouble of the
final five races
Bye Sav
This is BS. Sorry what is that Ferrari, you cant win fairly, you waste $50m on a driver that can drive if it is spitting and because of this your mates at the FIA penalise the most outstanding drives of the season.
My rating on the race went from Great to poor, well done the FIA….
What rubbish! The stewards should be taken out and shot! I’ve never in my many years of F1 fandom seen such an unfair, unsuportable and stupid ruling. Here’s an idea: Max should step in and overule the decision (with Whiting’s support) and thus clean up his image as the leader of the FIA.
Time for some kind of petition maybe? Sack all the stewards?
This is absolutely disgusting.
I hope McLaren challenge these decisions in Court.
After last races decision in favour of Massa, and no fine for Raikonen, despite him nearly killing one of his pit crew (and I AM NOT BUYING ALL THIS- HE”S FINE CRAP) and then the exact same pit lane release scenario being penalised yesterday- there can be no doubt about the FIA’s agenda.
Disgusting. You will see the viewing figures decreasing as a result of this.
No penalty for Raikonen- forcing Hamilton off the road- I see then.
I’m furious. Hamilton should quit. It’s obvious they will never allow him to win.
yeh right … if we wanna see spectacles like this we will watch WWE …
I’m starting to wonder why Formula 1 need FIA at all …
No wonder people think F1 is boring… Every time two drivers race each others, they are penalised! That’s it for me. I’ll stick with MotoGP and WTCC rest of the season.
this is complete bull thay do nothing to massa but strip the win form hamilton i am a fan of massa but he is stealing points
why don’t they just change the rules and make f1 a slot car racing series? it would be easier than this.
i wish i could say i’m surprised but really, this is the way the fia have been cheapening their own sport for years and turning off the people who really love racing.
maybe turning everyone off is their way of dumbing down their audience so eventually they won’t have to listen to the persistent criticisms they deserve.
shane, if mclaren appeals, get ready for another disqualification. the fia has nothing to do with fairness these days and appeals have rarely gone in the favor of the team/driver even before now.
I am done with F1. I might keep reading your site Keith because you seem like a nice guy but I am finished with this so-called “sport”.
also checking the video again, Kimi was swerving because his back tire was about to hit lewis. Lewis never even let him fully by.
Utterly shameful.
Nick, I’m sorry but “Hamilton was never going to make the corner”? Please.
He had already made the right-hand part of the corner quite easily. And the fact that he would have been able to make the left-hand part of the corner is proved by the fact that he took an even tighter line to avoid Raikkonen’s swerve.
He was clearly in control of the car.
Sav is wrong, this is not MCLAREN-FANATIC.com it is LEWIS-FANATIC.com.
Forgot to add a smiley
But seriously, I don’t think I’ll be watching Monza. Can’t wait to see (or rather, read about) what kind of injustices will happen when they’re on the red home soil.
Yeah, I agree. McLaren and Lewis shouldn’t just accept this. If the decision is overruled, they should think of pulling out. Otherwise, frankly, Ferrari will be allowed to win the WDC under just about any pretext.
Lewis had the edge on the first corner of the chicane, Kimi nudged him off (Kovi having been punished for a worse version of the same in the same race!), Lewis duly ceded the position. As the rules state. Do they say anything else, like, don’t immediately try to race again????! He was then struck (again!) by Kimi at La Source. Given he then stayed on track while Kimi spun off, the event had no bearing on the eventual race positions either.
Sham. Angry, angry, angry.
Those making comments about me being a Hamilton fan have very short memories. I thought his Magny-Cours penalty was entirely correct, for example.
If you think the stewards verdict today was correct I’d like to hear why, because it makes no sense to me, for the reasons I’ve explained above.
Shocked and disappointed. I think the stewards have ruined a great race and it is getting a little more than coincedential how much McLaren are penalised in comparison to the boys in red. I mean Kimi didn’t even finish so where is the advantage?
Having said that after taking time to consider the decision it is pretty clear that if Lewis would of followed Kimi round the corner there is no way he would of been so close to his gearbox on that straight, so in that sense he gained an advantage. I’d like to see the exact wording of the rulebook on this one.
As a fan I’d like to have seen the result stand, but seeing F1 as a business, and a sport with rules, I have to say by the letter of the law I imagine Hami broke the rules. So in that sense it is fair.
The question is, would it of been the same decision if the colour of the cars were reversed?
Here is the ruling:
http://www.fia.com/belgiumgp/documents/BEL_08_Document_49.pdf
Nicholas Deschaux, Surinder Thatthi and Yves Bacquelaine, your mothers must be so proud
And don’t forget Mosley’s political commissar Alan Donnelly
Remember Surinder Thatthi’s views on facial hair?
http://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/67205
Nasir Hoosein wasn’t even involved, wonder what had happened if he was
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70404
McLaren to appeal …
Hamilton was 6km/h slower than Kimi start finish line according to McLaren:
“A McLaren spokesman said: “We looked at all our data and also made it available to the FIA stewards. It showed that, having lifted, Lewis was 6km/h slower than Kimi as they crossed the start/finish line.”
****ing ****s. Seriously, if the FIA, Bernie, and all the rest of them don’t sort out the sport that they ru(i)n, I’m going to stop wasting every other weekend on their Formula.
It’s going to be no better when Jean Todt possibly takes over as the FIA top bloke, the Ferrari bias will rocket off of the scale.
Hurry up someone and create a breakaway series with decent tracks, fair and consistant rules, and cars that can follow each other closer than 2 seconds apart.
Like most of you on here, I’m absolutely gobsmacked that Ferrari had the nerve to launch an official complaint. Their lame **** Fin stuck he car in the car in the wall and probably would have done without Lewis putting pressure on.
For all of you who disaprove of McLaren and Lewis and rib this quality site for their support just remember it is a .co.uk website and both are brits. As an Englishman, I can’t remember the last time I supported Italy in the world cup!!!!
The sooner the FIA is disbanded and replaced by an unbiased organisation the better.
Great race turned to **** by gifting it Massa, the same as it would have been unfair to gift Valencia to Lewis.
I think Hamilton did exactly the right thing. He restored the status quo ante, as the lawyers say. What more do you expect him to do — toss rose petals in Kimi’s path as he flashes by?
This penalty is ridiculous (and I’m no Hamilton fan) and the stewards should be censured.
Is there any kind of training scheme for stewards, like there is for referees?
Guys I think GrandPrix.com sum up the how the whole of F1 world perceives the FIA’s terribly inconsistant decision making.
“More important than the decision itself was the reaction to it in Formula 1 circles. There was a very clear weariness as it simply adds to the widely-held belief that Ferrari is always favoured by the decision-makers, particularly if McLaren is involved. The FIA says this is not the case, but such denials are treated with scant credibility by those in the F1 business, who have seen too many decisions that appear to have the same outcome. The big question after Spa is not whether the decisions was right or wrong - it is entirely possible that the FIA Court of Appeal will overturn it. This may help to give the Court of Appeal a little more credibility”
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20740.html
For those posting on here suggesting there is a bias on this web site, please grow up and learn to debate constructively, not like little children.
Hamilton did gain position by illegal thing but the penalty is cleary unfair for him. I think that is very bad to the sport to gain an points and wins in “green table”. The same thing I spoke about the Massa and today. Let them race on the track…
Keith, I’d like to bring something to your attention, I found this footage from 1979 band I really think the FIA should revisit this! It’s Gilles villeneuve vs Renè Arnoux and they are RACING! The FIA should not stand for this. I expect penalties to be enforced and results to be retracted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tXJm9tYGM
Well done FIA. The best race for years, and they have soured it with an absolutely ridiculous decision which yet again makes F1 look stupid in front of the world’s media.
Forget a bias towards Ferrari, I think FIA are trying to boost viewing figures for A1GP and IRL with this sort of sham decision quite frankly.
What a joke. I’ve been a fan of Formula One for years, but if this decision stands I’ll never watch another Grand Prix until the current stewards, Bernie, and Max are all replaced. What a joke. I also used to like Kimi, but some of his actions during this race have changed my opinion of him also. Dribble… Utter dribble!
All that needs to be said has been said. An absolute shocker of a decision - I am completely speechless.
As a fan who is going to watch the Singapore grand prix (and spend a shedload of cash) i am worried that the stewards will intervene to “ruin” the race for the benefit of Ferrari.
I’m not sure if I can ever watch another F1 grand prix again. F1 is more fixed than WWE
Remember Japan 2005, when Alonso cut the chicane trying to pass Klien. He let him past, then passed him at the next turn, but was told by the stewards to let Klien back past because they felt that Alonso didn’t drop back enough the first time around.
Almost identical to this one.
And yes, I also think Hamilton’s penalty was unjustified as well.
Well, that’s it, I’ve had enough of this so called sport….. After Massa got off scott-free for an obvious rule infringement at Valencia, I didn’t think things could get much worse. How naive was I! I’ve already watched the incident 3 times, and I can’t see what Hamilton did wrong. He clearly let Kimi go by along the straight before overtaking again at turn 1… The FIA are a disgrace if this stands.
i feel cheated
worse
i feel treated like an idiot
What was the name of this organisation- FIA or FIAT?
I really don’t get it - do these people have faces? How do they sleep at night?
If Massa wins the driver’s championship, he will feel like a sucker for FIA literally handing him over the trophy by penalizing every one else.
I can’t believe how people are adding comments as if Kimi had the faster car.
Surely Hamilton let Kimi take the place back, and overtook on the next corner. That is my simplified view that surely most occasional viewers would agree with?
Unless there is a very clear explanation, of a move possibly off-camera, the sport has signed its death warrant.
I’m not a Ferrari fan, but I really don’t like Hamilton either. Even so, this penalty does seem a little harsh, although I do think that Hamilton failed to give the place back properly, so perhaps some reprimand would’ve been more appropriate. Perhaps a big fine…? Anyway, it could all be overturned in a few weeks, so let’s not get too irate just yet.
I think this appears worse though because there is still so much chatter about the pitlane fine that Ferrari received at Valencia. The GP2 pitlane incidents in Valencia and Spa have been deemed more dangerous than that of Massa because they were in the middle of the pitlane - Massa was at the end and the only danger was the safety and medical cars (the cameraman was in no more danger than usual really, he was well out of the way), whereas the mechanics jumped out of the way to avoid Senna yesterday afternoon. Just a bit of speculation.
The issue is not how close to Kimi Hamilton was before going into the chicane compared to after it, but how close Hamilton would have been had he braked and taken the second part of the Bus Stop properly and not cut the corner.
It would be physically impossible for Hamilton to have been as close to Kimi going into La Source had Hamilton not cut the second part of the Bus Stop, and as such Hamilton did clearly still have an advantage from cutting the corner, despite him letting Kimi back through. As such, I for one am wholly in support of the FIA’s decision to penalise Hamilton, as are a number of McLaren fans I know.
Keith,
I understand you are not happy; it has been a great end of the race, yet, I do believe Hamilton has again failed for not staying calmed…second position was again perfectly OK for his World Championship (we could say, “he was racing Felipe, not Kimi”). His temper again put him in trouble.
Now, you asked why such penalty has been applied. I thought you might want to take a look to the blog of Marc Gene in the Spanish newspaper ElMundo, that I am pasting below. It is in Spanish, but yet you may get an idea. I know Marc “belongs” to Ferrari, but you may want to do some research on this matter. Marc defends that despite Lewis did allow Kimi to pass after not respecting the chicane, he should have let pass the next curve before attacking again, otherwise, he is taking advantage of the “rebufo” (sorry I do not remember the word in English now and I want to hurry up: it is something related to the “aspiration effect” of the previous car or alike). Whether or not this is correct, I do not know, but think about it.
This is not to say that the stewards do not do what they want all the time regardless of the rules. In fact, many of us believe that happened often last year and you know what I am talking about. But that is an old story.
In any case, congratulations to Lewis for an awesome race. The day he controls his temper will be unbeatable, I am afraid.
Even if they had given a drive through penalty, Hamilton would have won. He had a clear 14 second advantage over Massa!
FIA just proves that they are stupid again.
It’s one of those decision where you just don’t know where to start…
And once you do start it’s difficult to know where to stop, either.
Let’s all go watch Superleague Formula or something, shall we?
@Rohan, I’d be of the opinion that you probably don’t know many McLaren fans. Because everyone I’ve talked to, regardless of which team they support, is as disgusted as I am. Well, apart from the Ferrari fans I know. They are all ecstatic.
I’m no Hamilton worshipper, in fact I’m a closet tifosi if anything, but…
I’m speechless.
Actually I’m not at all, but it’s best I don’t write exactly what I’m thinking in the public domain.
What an absolute disgrace. Hamilton deserved every one of those 10 points. If I wasn’t so morbidly curious as to see how bias the FIA can be on the Reds’ home turf, I’d turn off next weekend out of polite protest and disdain…
Sadly the FIA website doesn’t have a general ‘contact’ email address, otherwise I would have sent them my tuppence-worth. *However*, they do have a contact for the site administrator, in case of “Any technical problems”… I thought it might be amusing if we could get the entire F1 world to email them and point out there *IS* a problem with their website - it says Massa won at Spa and Ham came third
admin@fiacommunications.com
Ferrari
International
Assistance
For me the penalty is justified. We´ve got the precedent of 2005 with Alonso and Klien, and in the post-race conference Hamilton recognised he used the cutting of the chicane to get right behind kimi to be in his aspiration.
Given that, i would bet that if the incident would have been between sutil and nakajima, just to say someone wouldn´t been applied. It is applied with the interest to make the drivers champiosnhip more intriguing and nothing else
Macademianut - the average time a speed-limited car needs to travel through the pit lane is 25 seconds, hence the size of the time penalty applied by the FIA (here to Hamilton & Glock, and in the past to Fisi, Liuzzi and many others). As such, had Hamitlon been given a drive through penalty, he would have been behind Massa and Heidfeld anyway.
@ Keith
> Raikkonen forced Hamilton off the track by swerving across the
> front of the McLaren. Hamilton had been entirely alongside the
> Ferrair [sic] going into the corner.
Although I’m not sure whether Hamilton’s punishment was just or not, I do think you’re being too harsh on Räikkönen, here. He had the inside line on Hamilton, going into the final corner, which gives the corner to the Finn. Forcing a driver who’s trying to overtake you to the outside of a corner, is just as much ‘racing’ as it is to force the driver you are about to overtake to the outside.
> A similar piece of driving at Eau Rouge or Blanchimont could
> have lethal consequences.
I’d say this is hardly the case anymore, because there’s 1,000 yards of run-off at both corners nowadays.
Juan H,
“I do believe Hamilton has again failed for not staying calmed…second position was again perfectly OK for his World Championship”
So you’re saying you’d like to watch a motor RACING series where the guy who is in 2nd place has no interest in wanting to catch and overtake the guy in 1st place.
Get out of here.
They were side by side going into the corner, so what possible advantage did he get. If Lewis had not taken avoiding action both cars would have been out of the race if he had gone onto the grass. And I believe Mclaren consulted race control during the race.
The is no point singing FIA and witchcraft. In my opinion, its not a lack of overtaking ruining the show, its the FIA and its inconsistencies that make a joke of everything.
SkinBintin - being a Williams fan, I have little love for Ferrari, nor McLaren. So, fwiw not every non-Ferrari supporter with whom you have conversed is disgusted by the penalty.
Lewis was never fully behind Kimi until they started braking for the 1st corner. I believe you are supposed to, correct me if I’m wrong…give the full position back to the driver and then carry on.
Hamilton while maybe 6km slower was beside Kimi down the entire front straight…Kimi tried to move left to set up for the corner and almost hit Lewis’s right front with his back tire.
Sorry, Lewis needs to learn a little bit about passing.
Also, saying Kimi pushed him off the road…? how about last year when Alonso pushed him off at the first corner?!? no penalty…Alonso had the line.
I have been a long time fan of F1 and have supported loads of the teams at different times.
I watched the GP2 races from Saturday and Sunday. In both races drivers did exactly what Lewis Hamilton did and were not penalised for it!
Judging by the decisions that the Stewards have made in the last few seasons I guess that if Hamilton had not avoided an accident by running across the escape lane then he would have been found guilty of ‘Failing to avoid an avoidable accident’.
The Stewards are becoming more and more blatant in their bias.
They should all be replaced by a group that are elected by the drivers.
Hamilton did well to avoid being hit by Raikkonen. Raikkonen should be punished for his dangerous driving.
Juan H,
Kimi has been extremely slow in the corners after the rain started. Clearly, his car was ahead and he was wavering from one side to another to block Hamilton. Hamilton got on the inside, while Kimi was early on his brakes.
Your whole lesson to Hamilton on his controling his anger is absolutely baseless. He spun in the first lap and was obviously eager to get it back. People who just watch the race start to give advice to the drivers who put the heart and soul on the track! I think McLaren is right to appeal this decision.
But, this is not the end of the season. The equation will all be settled. FATE.
Cheers.
If it made a difference maybe this decision will add impetus to the manufacturers meeting to be held at monza - maybe every race team - apart from ferrari could turn up and refuse too race - then bernie might listen and get shot of the fia - unfortunatly it wont happen???
and as for being biased Keith - everybody gets a chance however stupid at times!! to put their point over - I’m just gutted here about those fia - enter expletive of choice here - more if required - keep it going keith
Keith,
Great site you’ve got here – how about doing a post analysing, and especially comparing, the various stewards decisions involving McLaren and Ferrari over the last 3-5 years? Perhaps including incidents that weren’t investigated the maybe should have been.
As a relative newcomer to the sport I would welcome an objective analysis so I can form a meaningful opinion that isn’t unduly influenced by my own or others’ biases.
@Rohan, Fair enough… I take my comment back.
Its always nice to have a race decided off the track… NOT! Thank goodness McLaren are appealing this but unfortunately we all know they will loose the appeal as well. Its been proved the cards are always stacked against every other teams, excluding Ferrari of course (and I am a huge Ferrari fan but this is clearly not a fair playing field any more).
Winning at all and any costs is clearly everything, but its funny how it sometimes leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Massa’s penalty was 10,000 Euro’s but alas not Lewis’s. It’s interesting to note that Kimi has not received any penalty?! That says it all!
My advice to Lewis, if I may be so bold, would be to keep your head down and focus even more mate. The championship win will be all the more sweeter.
I like Guy’s idea for the article. Perhaps extend it to the past 10 years to account for the possible ‘Schumi’ effect. Though it could possibly already confirm what we all suspect.
It was just racing. Neither driver was to blame, but the stewards decided to blame someone. Pathetic, yes. Racing incident, also yes.
Obviously it doesn’t make a difference, but shouldn’t Kimi get the same 25sec penalty? May be only a formality but he was atleast 50% at fault.
I am far from a Hamilton fan (he is my least favorite driver, I refuse to use the word ‘hate’ but I strongly dislike his attitude.)But this was clearly too far.
I thought Nascar was guilty for spicing up the races with questionable “debris on the track” cautions, but this is far worse.
How can you even take the championship seriously anymore?
I am sick of the FIA milking Ferrari all the time. A good race spoilt by biased attitudes which are head this so called ’sport’. Hamilton gave the position back to Raikonen who was the one that forced him off and overtook him twice to win fair and square. Its ashame Ferrari and the FIA cannot accept defeat gracefully.
I think it has gone to far now this biased behaviour which has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Lewis, Mclaren and some of the other teams should really give the FIA a STERN CASE and a PUNCH and if the race is not given back to hamilton before Monza they should just boycott the next race.
I was entertained in this race and was proud of Hamilton for his heroics, however it sickens me that when hearing his national anthem on the podium there is a plot in the stewards office to rid this talented drivers win and stunning drive for Massa who was not even in contention. Raikonen crashed out anyway.
Shame on you Ferrari and FIA!
it is a big shame that this sports is being brought into such redicle by this sort of shambolic decision.
I for one am absolutely appalled at this decision. If there was any doubt in my mind over FIA favouring Ferrari it has completely disappeared now.
Valencia springs to mind… both cars involved in incidents within the pits, one incident injuring and the other creating a potentially dangerous situation. Both incidents due to pit release. And what’s the best the FIA could think of? Fining a multi million pound budget team a mere 10,000 Euros (about 7,500 sterling).
I for one hope that they appeal this decision using everything they have got. However i doubt it will do anything, after all the team appealing are called McLaren.