news.bbc.co.uk— Formula One bosses are investigating McLaren for a possible breach of the rules in Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
May 28, 2007View in Crawl 4
I wish it was for something else, this is total bulls**t. Anyone who knows anything about F1, knows monte carlo is the most difficult place to pass. during this race you can probably count the passes for position on one hand. while he was behind alonso, Hamilton was really struggling to control his car, he almost ended up in the wall twice, it was really phenomenal driving that he was able to recover at all. It wouldn't mattered who was in front of him, the engineer would have told him to back off, as he was in second it was not worth the risk of crashing out since he obviously didn't have what it was going to take to pass a world champ.
Hamilton is p****** because he was told to hold position. He apparently made no bones about it by saying "I am the #2 driver, and today I got 2nd place" (or something close to that).The bigger problem is what the Euro-press is whining about. Many Euro's had bet $$$$ on Lewis to WIN. Lewis had won every Monaco race he had ever run in up to yesterday. Ron screwered that all up and those bettors lost. In fact, the rule came about a few years back because of the Euro-press backlash from the betting parlors and online bettors losing big on Ruebens that day.
It would have been team orders if Lewis had been in front and pulled aside for Alonso.Regardless, it sucks that McLaren gave the favored fuel strategy to Alonso, despite Hamilton being ahead in the points. Ron must be thinking he's keeping his drivers in a "moderated optimized environment"...Hamilton's command at Monaco is unreal.
"Ron Dennis admitted that the McLaren team decided in advance that Fernando Alonso would win the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton"Not really....what Ron Dennis decided is that his drivers will not battle for the win, and secure the very important 1-2 finish the team needed.
Aktually, I would really loke to know what happened to Hamilton on his last qualifying lap as he seemed to be going much faster and then all of a sudden slowed up. Nothing was really made of that after qualifying or during the race.
guhvies:The commentators said that Hamilton felt he was held up by another car during his qualification lap, losing 0.5 seconds. He would have been on the pole by 0.4 secs if this hadn't happened.To be honest, it just sounds like bravado to me. This and Hamilton's comments about his relationship with Alonso (that he felt there was nothing Alonso could teach him) have unfortunately shown a less appealing side of Hamilton.
times changes - 10 years ago it would not be an issue - but today - by the letter of the law - it might very well be a serious issue.If radio communication show that orders were given to INFLUENCE the outcome of the race, well then the case should be clear - penalties are appropriate. What else could FIA if they indeed find a smoking gun??However, It should be the team that is penalized, e.g. remove team point for Monaco race, or if FIA wants to make an example of this case also no team points for the next race. That should give other teams something to think about too.But nonetheless, at the end of the day - this is a rather silly game - as I am sure teams could think up very delicate ways to achieve the effect they wanted if they put their minds to it.
bnuk013May 29, 2007
I wish it was for something else, this is total bulls**t. Anyone who knows anything about F1, knows monte carlo is the most difficult place to pass. during this race you can probably count the passes for position on one hand. while he was behind alonso, Hamilton was really struggling to control his car, he almost ended up in the wall twice, it was really phenomenal driving that he was able to recover at all. It wouldn't mattered who was in front of him, the engineer would have told him to back off, as he was in second it was not worth the risk of crashing out since he obviously didn't have what it was going to take to pass a world champ.
budman2000May 29, 2007
Hamilton is p****** because he was told to hold position. He apparently made no bones about it by saying "I am the #2 driver, and today I got 2nd place" (or something close to that).The bigger problem is what the Euro-press is whining about. Many Euro's had bet $$$$ on Lewis to WIN. Lewis had won every Monaco race he had ever run in up to yesterday. Ron screwered that all up and those bettors lost. In fact, the rule came about a few years back because of the Euro-press backlash from the betting parlors and online bettors losing big on Ruebens that day.
hakkamacherMay 29, 2007
It would have been team orders if Lewis had been in front and pulled aside for Alonso.Regardless, it sucks that McLaren gave the favored fuel strategy to Alonso, despite Hamilton being ahead in the points. Ron must be thinking he's keeping his drivers in a "moderated optimized environment"...Hamilton's command at Monaco is unreal.
gojedaMay 29, 2007
"Ron Dennis admitted that the McLaren team decided in advance that Fernando Alonso would win the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton"Not really....what Ron Dennis decided is that his drivers will not battle for the win, and secure the very important 1-2 finish the team needed.
guhviesMay 29, 2007
Aktually, I would really loke to know what happened to Hamilton on his last qualifying lap as he seemed to be going much faster and then all of a sudden slowed up. Nothing was really made of that after qualifying or during the race.
crimsonphoenixMay 29, 2007
And saying that , I agree that Hamilton was outraced by alonso on this occasion, so don't think I am saying alonso didn't slow down a bit.
happyscrappyMay 29, 2007
guhvies:The commentators said that Hamilton felt he was held up by another car during his qualification lap, losing 0.5 seconds. He would have been on the pole by 0.4 secs if this hadn't happened.To be honest, it just sounds like bravado to me. This and Hamilton's comments about his relationship with Alonso (that he felt there was nothing Alonso could teach him) have unfortunately shown a less appealing side of Hamilton.
ventura777May 29, 2007
times changes - 10 years ago it would not be an issue - but today - by the letter of the law - it might very well be a serious issue.If radio communication show that orders were given to INFLUENCE the outcome of the race, well then the case should be clear - penalties are appropriate. What else could FIA if they indeed find a smoking gun??However, It should be the team that is penalized, e.g. remove team point for Monaco race, or if FIA wants to make an example of this case also no team points for the next race. That should give other teams something to think about too.But nonetheless, at the end of the day - this is a rather silly game - as I am sure teams could think up very delicate ways to achieve the effect they wanted if they put their minds to it.