Canadian GP 2008

[modbaraban]

Maybe it is time to remove all controls from the steering wheel? That way, the driver isn't distracted while leaving the pits.

Chris

And place them where? On top of the headrest?

[WhiteBlue]

I wonder how that race in the pitlane between Kubica and Kimi would have continued if Hamilton had not taken out Kimi. up to that point Kimi had avoided contact so he was not violating pit lane or safety car rules. had he continued to race Kubica through the pit exit after the light went green he could have been overtaking under yellow. this is a bit strange because both drivers had a clear lane in the pits and were side by side. so overtaking in the pits didn't occure under yellow, but ultimately it would have. the rules for this seemed unclear.

[shotzski]

I've read some viewers' quotes from another F1 website, and they are furious with Hamilton. How come when a Mclaren car commits a mistake, people always hit out on them. People brand Mclaren with different names and say things that are irrelevant with the situation, but when a Ferrari commits it, it's just a racing incident. Thus unavoidable or not to be blamed. I know it's their opinion, but at least be rational with reasoning. They talk as if they've driven an F1 car before. All I'm saying is that, be balanced. What if Lewis was in a Ferrari, would their views of him change? Peace!

[megz]

Running side by side in the pit lane has happened many a time in the past and never has there been repercussions so I think its OK as far as the rules are concerned.

[Chaparral]

What I want to know is - you see two seperate lanes in the pits - ones the pitlane (or static lane) and ones the fast lane and all rules I know in different series globally are that you have to move into that 'fast' lane safely after your pit service before exiting pitlane. Ive never known a situation where your allowed to drive down the static lane and pull up at the end of the pit lane side by side with a competitor - it always has to be line astern. - can anyone clarify that with F1 rules.

[walter]

Ok in response to shotzki, it seems that people posting such passionate posts just want to get attention and make some kind of an argument when in actuality an incident such as Kimi's in Monaco and Hamilton's in Montreal are not similar and therefore not grounds for making such arguments of Ferrari favoritismn as the reason for the penalty difference between the two incidents.

there is no reason for any bashing at all. Human beings, under stress, high speed or not, do make mistakes.

Furthermore, I think that if Hamilton looked up just a fraction earlier, he would have avoided the accident. All that weekend the talks were about brakes. I believe it was Truli that stated that there is a delay for about a quarter of a second between pressure applied and the calipers heating up the disk enough to start the rapid deceleration. I believe that Hamilton was partially at fault because he did not see the red light in time, but it is also a fault of the design limitations. These brake disks and calipers were meant to be very effective at high speed, they are very light, small in radius, and do not even have as much caliper pistons as high performance street cars.

[shotzski]

Thanks Walter for the detailed technical explanation. As I watched the replay of the race, (yeah, Hamilton did a huge mistake) the lights turned red almost so sudden. Kimi and Robert were very fortunate because they were in front and have no one to bump into. You can also say that they were more observant than Lewis. But maybe the officials could modify the lights a lil bit. Like adding a third color like yellow or orange, to notify the drivers a red light will come out. Just a thought.

[WhiteBlue]

Running side by side in the pit lane has happened many a time in the past and never has there been repercussions so I think its OK as far as the rules are concerned.

yes, that is true but in this instance we had a yellow and that means overtaking isn't allowed. in the pits the manoever did not come to overtaking because Kimi accelerated to match Kubica's speed and ended in a position on the side of the BMW driver. he was using a clear slow lane for this because Ferrari are the last team in the pit lane. if the session was started then the drivers would have to line up behind each other in the pit lane. but they are allowed to use the whole pit lane during pit stops and the releasing team must make sure no collision occurs. so sitting side by side in the pit exit was legal. the question is still what would be the situation when the light went green and the accident had not occurred.

[connollyg]

Thanks Walter for the detailed technical explanation. As I watched the replay of the race, (yeah, Hamilton did a huge mistake) the lights turned red almost so sudden. Kimi and Robert were very fortunate because they were in front and have no one to bump into. You can also say that they were more observant than Lewis. But maybe the officials could modify the lights a lil bit. Like adding a third color like yellow or orange, to notify the drivers a red light will come out. Just a thought.

From one of the clips i saw during the race it looked like the lights went from BLUE to RED just as Kimi and Robert got near! Maybe thats why Lewis and Nico ASSUMED (wrongly as it turns out) that they were staying blue, they took their eye off the ball (its obvious from Lewis's onboard cockpit view, that he was looking down at the time - dash maybe?) and also why their pitlane guys were late on the red-light call. Anybody seen a comment from Nico on the subject?

[WhiteBlue]

I think the guys have an attitude problem

Hamilton

"Personally I think the rule is silly. We are in the race, how can you see a red light at the end of the pitlane? But that's the rule and I accept it."

Rosberg

Throughout my carreer I have never looked for the traffic light at the pit lane exit.

So the stewards found it necessary to remind them to observe the rule. penalty fits the mistake IMO.

[JamesS]

I think the guys have an attitude problem

Hamilton

"Personally I think the rule is silly. We are in the race, how can you see a red light at the end of the pitlane? But that's the rule and I accept it."

Rosberg

Throughout my carreer I have never looked for the traffic light at the pit lane exit.

So the stewards found it necessary to remind them to observe the rule. penalty fits the mistake IMO.

We learn from experience and mistakes. If this is the first time they have experienced anything like this (red light at the end of the pit lane) then they have certainly learned and it is unlikely to occur again.

I do feel some of the pit lane rules in F1 are draconian. For example, when the safety car first comes out, they often close the pit lane and those guys running on fumes at the time are stuffed. They either keep going and run out of fuel, or pit and face a penalty which will include possible disqualification. Why close the pit lane and punish a driver for someone else's accident? It's stupid.

[shotzski]

From one of the clips i saw during the race it looked like the lights went from BLUE to RED just as Kimi and Robert got near! Maybe thats why Lewis and Nico ASSUMED (wrongly as it turns out) that they were staying blue, they took their eye off the ball (its obvious from Lewis's onboard cockpit view, that he was looking down at the time - dash maybe?) and also why their pitlane guys were late on the red-light call. Anybody seen a comment from Nico on the subject?

Spot on! It was like a guessing game for the drivers. I also think that both Lewis and Nico assumed that the light would stay blue, so that they could stay in line with Kimi and Robert out on front without losing so much time. The funny thing was, right after the Mclaren-Ferrari crash, the lights suddenly turned green It's such a shame lewis and Kimi ended the race like that.

[sebbe]

Belatti, Lewis didn't choose to hit Kimi; he just went left to the slow lane where NO CAR SHOULD BE. If Kimi had queued behind Kubica and Lewis had approached at the same speed then no accident would have happened!
He would have exited the pits with red light and then he would have given a black flag.

If you see two cars side by side at the end of the pits you assume the car in Kubica's place had stalled and Kimi is passing him on the left. That's another possible explanation. Not very likely due to the fact that Lewis wasn't paying attention.

[pieter1]

I think the guys have an attitude problem

Hamilton

"Personally I think the rule is silly. We are in the race, how can you see a red light at the end of the pitlane? But that's the rule and I accept it."

Rosberg

Throughout my carreer I have never looked for the traffic light at the pit lane exit.

So the stewards found it necessary to remind them to observe the rule. penalty fits the mistake IMO.

that's right...when Kimi saw the light he stopped..why did not lewis stop as well..what was he thinking about? it was obvious that kimi did not stop just because he wanted to, but because he had to - so there was no reason for lewis to continue - he should understand kimi's stoping as a signal of problems at the end of the pitlane because drivers do not stop at the end of the pitlane just because they want to, there is always a reason for this...

[Chaparral]

I think the guys have an attitude problem

Hamilton

"Personally I think the rule is silly. We are in the race, how can you see a red light at the end of the pitlane? But that's the rule and I accept it."

Rosberg

Throughout my carreer I have never looked for the traffic light at the pit lane exit.

So the stewards found it necessary to remind them to observe the rule. penalty fits the mistake IMO.

I ask again and dont refer to the rule book as it doesnt make sense " was Kimi allowed to be there beside Kubica under the rules - in ALL other series you have to pull out into the 'fast lane' after your pit service (from the static or pitlane service lane) to exit the pits and line astern not side by side. If Kimi wasnt allowed there and in fact had to be line astern behind Kubica then thats a problem and Hamilton maybe couldve avoided the accident if they were line astern - Im not discounting Hamiltons failure he had a brain fade when faced with no where to go as did Rosberg." Surely someone here can enlighten us on this rule - or is the rule non existent or is it just a Canadian thing