Official F1/Motorsport thread

[VR46]

It is a fantastic circuit, I wonder if any races there are ever run on the track reversed, the hill climb would then be a corner to rival the cork-screw at Laguna. Probably not, but wishful thinking.

[Gradius]

It is a fantastic circuit, I wonder if any races there are ever run on the track reversed, the hill climb would then be a corner to rival the cork-screw at Laguna. Probably not, but wishful thinking.

Sounds great in theory but run off areas would be in the wrong places on most corners.

[Rossco]

Well I just finished watching this race, was all hyped about it after an amazing end and LH winning. So thought I'd come on here to comment and started reading the comments!

Absolutely gutted. It's a farce.

LH gave the position back. So no advantage is given.

If the exact same move had been made and LH had ended up just a foot behind KR instead of ahead then no penalty would have been made. And after LH gave the position back, he was just behind him again so whats the problem?

I'm gutted at the decision.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

The decision is disgusting, but I expected nothing less from the FIA considering that Ferrari have them in their pockets. Charlie Whiting had no problem with the move and was overruled by Alan Donnelly - a man with no racing experience and the owner of Sovereign Strategy, who count Ferrari among their clientele.

[Shez]

The more I see it, the more I agree with the decision, but yeah if it was the other way around nothing would have been done.

By the way Charlie Whiting and Alan Donnelly are not part of the race steward team, and are there in an advisory capacity only. Obviously Donnelly is the one with the clout, he's supposedly head F1 steward (although I don't think they call it that anymore) but he does not vote on these issues.

The votes are down to the three independent stewards at any given race.

Interesting to note that neither Barrichelo or Button have been confirmed at Honda yet - Button might be sweating a bit if he doesn't retain that Honda seat. I don't think Ross Brawn is too enthused with either at the moment.

[Richard.John]

The crux is that LH would never have been that close if he hadn't cut the chicane, thus an easy overtake wouldn't have happened. I am not sure it's wise that they appeal though as the punishment might be more severe and Mclaren are hardly flavour of the month with the FIA.

[toythatkills]

Wouldn't he? He was ahead at the corner before he was squeezed out, there's no reason to believe he couldn't have stayed within striking distance. Raikonnen was cornering very sheepishly, after all.

[Rossco]

Well LH was on the left hand side of KR at the time of the incident, and the next corner was a left hander so he would have had the racing line I think, but Kimi cut back across him, forcing him to take the slip road exit. If they had both went round the corner properly on the road, they would have been alot closer than they were after LH gave the position back.

One of the teams, (McLaren) need to stand up to the FIA before more of this **** happens.

[toythatkills]

Something else, then. If Hamilton has been penalised for getting closer to Raikkonen by skipping the corner, surely that means every driver that ever accidentally skips a chicane should get a drive through?

If Kubica makes an error and goes over a corner and ends up 24.8 seconds behind Massa instead of 25.7 seconds, that's an advantage, right? He's got closer, right? Drive through?

Probably a bad example using Massa, he's in a Ferrari, of course Kubica would be penalised. But do you see?

[abigsmurf]

If you gain any sort of time advantage from skipping a corner it's a drive through as standard.

Also worth pointing out that when overtaking, it's the person doing the manouver's responsibility to perform it in a safe manner. There's no onus on the person in front to adjust their racing line. There's only an issue if the person being overtaken deliberately forced them off (in an active way rather than a passive manner)

[toythatkills]

If you gain any sort of time advantage from skipping a corner it's a drive through as standard.

So why has it rarely, if ever, been enforced before?

[Rossco]

Petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/belgp08/petition.html

[Number45]

Could he have realistically avoided taking the escape route through that chicane? If not, I don't see why this penalty stands.

It's a real shame to be honest. That was one of the most exciting races I can remember watching in F1 for years, and all of the discussion since has been about this.

[abigsmurf]

So why has it rarely, if ever, been enforced before?

I've seen it enforced a few times. Usually when someone skips a turn, it's because they've lost control so there's no time advantage. It happens more often with drivers who aren't championship contenders because there's more overtaking and more congested and is likely to happen on the first few corners when a race starts.

You've got to have a stiff penalty for skipping corners and gaining an advantage unless you want to trivialise the sport.

[abigsmurf]

Could he have realistically avoided taking the escape route through that chicane? If not, I don't see why this penalty stands.

It's a real shame to be honest. That was one of the most exciting races I can remember watching in F1 for years, and all of the discussion since has been about this.

Yes, if he hadn't of tried that manouver on the leader's inside he wouldn't have been forced off the track. You should never expect a driver to make way for you in a competative race and as such, the situation was of his own making.