Hamilton removed from qualifying

[hayleylsl]

Wow i thought it would just be a 6 place grid drop, but no :-(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18047760


Lewis Hamilton loses Spanish pole because of rules on fuel


By Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer at the Circuit de Catalunya

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has been excluded from qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix after stopping his car out on the track at the end of qualifying .
Hamilton qualified on pole but will start from the back of the grid.
He was told to stop because there was insufficient fuel in the car for him to get back to the pits and provide a sample, as required by the rules.
The stewards rejected McLaren's argument that not putting enough fuel in the car was "force majeure".
Rules on fuel
Article 6.6.2 of the technical regulations: "Competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the event.

"Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power."

The F1 rules require the car to return to the pits with one litre of fuel on board - running less fuel gives a performance advantage.
Although in this case the advantage gained in no way accounted for Hamilton's 0.578-second advantage over second placed Pastor Maldonado of Williams, the stewards felt they had to penalise McLaren.
Their ruling said: "A team member had put an insufficient quantity of fuel into the car, thereby resulting in the car having to be stopped on the circuit in order to be able to provide the required amount for sampling purposes.
Analysis

Gary Anderson
BBC F1 technical analyst
"The fuel rig guy put the rig on, but he had the handle set to drain fuel. He discovered his mistake and switched it to put fuel in the car. But as a result he didn't put as much fuel in it as he should have. You have to be able to drive back to the pit-lane and have one litre of fuel left for the FIA to test. He went across the start-finish line 20 seconds before the chequered flag but if they had sat in the garage for three or four more seconds to get more fuel in, they still would have had time to cross the line and complete another flying lap. Sometimes I don't think McLaren think on their feet."

"As the amount of fuel put into the car is under the complete control of the competitor, the stewards cannot accept this as a case of force majeure."
A McLaren statement said: "We accept that the stewards did not agree with our interpretation of force majeure. Our aim is now to maximise the points we can score."
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh had argued that the size of the margin was a reason for Hamilton to be allowed to keep his position.
"It was a massive margin by the situation within F1 at the moment and he undoubtedly deserves to be there," Whitmarsh said.
The decision gives Venezuelan Maldonado the first pole position of his career, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso promoted to second place.
The rules on fuel were changed by F1's governing body, the FIA, after a similar problem with Hamilton's car at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix .

edit: comment from me

Seems like there is big trouble in the Mclaren- the pit stops, now this...for such a big well funded team they shouldn't be making mistakes like this..

Will be an interesting start with Maldonado on pole, and the Redbull's so far back.  Im excited now :-)

[Ian]

Hmm, now watch all the GG picks change. Seems a bit harsh to me, as with enough fuel in the car it probably would only have made a couple of 10ths difference to his time, but then it is Lewis, and we know how much the stewards just love him.

[hayleylsl]

Yeah i thought it was really harsh too- but like you said it's Lewis... idk, they do seem to judge him harshly, perhaps it's just how things go, but he does seem to have a lot of decisions go against him, more so then other drivers- perhaps this is just the way it is reported though, especially here in the UK.  I'm trying to be diplomatic but i *like* Lewis a lot.

[Philbe]

 I agree it seemed a bit harsh, however, seems some of the teams have been walking the tightrope lately with regards to stopping on the track before the finish (vettel) and playing quali roulette with 11th position to avoid gearchange penalties. I think the stewards did a pre-emptive strike and Lewis paid the price.

[Ian]

IMO, if they're gonna uphold that rule for quali they should extend it to the race too, if you can't finish the race and have enough fuel to finish and provide a sample, disqualification.

[Scott]

IMO, if they're gonna uphold that rule for quali they should extend it to the race too, if you can't finish the race and have enough fuel to finish and provide a sample, disqualification.

Good rule, good reason.  Too bad Hamilton's team let him down by doing stupidly close calculations (which they apparently got wrong, even worse).

It's not that you have to finish the race or get back to the pits, it's that you have to have enough fuel in your tank for a test.  I think they already do require a sample post race as well, which is why some others have actually stopped on track before making it back to the pits - if they don't have a proper fuel sample they go to the back of the pack next race I think (Ali can clarify).

And here's why I like it, and the have no problem that they nailed Mclaren on it.  If they can't test the fuel for an additive, then what's to prevent any team from spiking the fuel, shorting the tank and nailing pole with a bit of rocket fuel in the tank?  And whatever Whitmarsh says, it is MORE important to get a fuel test on a car that takes pole by over .5sec when the rest of the field is less than .1sec apart from each other.  Sorry, very little sympathy in this instance.  Too bad it fell on Hamilton's shoulders, but Mclaren certainly deserved it.

[cosworth151]

I have to ask, which is worse: McLaren short-fueling Hamilton and then telling him to stop on track, or Vettel and Schumacher not going out at all? The former allows the car to run unrealistically light. The latter deprives the fans of the spectacle of qualifying.

I wonder what penalty would have been assessed if it had been Button's McLaren and not Hamilton's.

[Scott]

Conspiracy...Button would have had the same penalty I think. 

And IMO they should give a 10 place grid penalty for not posting a time in Q3.  It ruins the show.

[Alianora La Canta]

It would be nice if the FIA could be bothered to use the part of the rulebook that applies for this sort of thing. As it stands, there isn't much point asking whether penalties should be applied for this or that, as it is patently obvious the FIA will simply apply them however it wishes and the rulebook is merely a historical document.

[lkjohnson1950]

I think that Lewis got hit because the rule was specifically changed after he did the same thing in Canada last year. If they change a rule because of your action and then you do it again, you should expect to get stomped. that said, McLaren is not on the ball this year, making mistake after mistake. If they lose this year's titles, the race team will have failed, not the drivers or the designers.

[Alianora La Canta]

The FIA is only allowed to escalate a penalty if the previous offence was within that season (or, in the case of series employing "points on license" such as BTCC, there are points that haven't expired yet). So if that's the FIA's excuse, they've broken the regulations right there.

[Monty]

I have to ask, which is worse: McLaren short-fueling Hamilton and then telling him to stop on track, or Vettel and Schumacher not going out at all? The former allows the car to run unrealistically light. The latter deprives the fans of the spectacle of qualifying.

I agree totally! It was a stupid mistake by McLaren but the fuel was in the car so it could be tested. Importantly it wasn't a deliberate ploy and Hamilton provided possibly one of the all time best qualification laps for us all to see.

[John S]

I have to ask, which is worse: McLaren short-fueling Hamilton and then telling him to stop on track, or Vettel and Schumacher not going out at all? The former allows the car to run unrealistically light. The latter deprives the fans of the spectacle of qualifying.

I agree totally! It was a stupid mistake by McLaren but the fuel was in the car so it could be tested. Importantly it wasn't a deliberate ploy and Hamilton provided possibly one of the all time best qualification laps for us all to see.

Looks like there is one rule for Lewis and McLaren and another rule for the rest. The stewards could have simply taken away that final fastest time, leaving Lewis to start in 7th from his previous time set in Q3.

Disqualification from the whole of Quali is a bit drastic and you only expect that to apply when they find illegal parts, ride height, engine software, or areo. Lewis made it back to the pits with no trouble on the early run so it would be hard to argue he was fuel light and in non-compliance then, so why the big heave ho? 



   

[Jericoke]

I only just finished watching the race on my PVR.  I had avoided my favourite website so I wouldn't be spoiled about the race.

Because TSN picks up the broadcast 5 minutes before the parade lap, they never mentioned why Hamilton was starting dead last.  I watched the whole race wondering what the hell was going on!

I do think that Hamilton is hard done by in general by the stewards, and given the history of his treatment in Spain... well... I'll be fair minded anyway.  Having enough fuel to test is a big deal.  The penalty seems harsh, but I hope we're done seeing cars stop on track.