2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Hamilton vs Vettel incident

[TAG]

I really am at a loss to understand how people can attack the FIA for wanting to look into this more...

I think it simply makes the whole thing more farcical, that the FIA is taking two stabs at it. It's not really defending Vettel. Stewards should have just shown him a black flag while the race was stopped and been done with it.

Would have been so much easier for all involved had the done that. Additionally the claims we're hearing that stewards didn't want to penalize Vettel too much in order to not impact the WDC championship is something that needs to be investigated in parallel here.

[AnotherAlex]

After the race when he has the information available to him he continues to lie about the brake test and insists the stewards are wrong again to punish him without punishing Hamilton.

Vettel feels that Hamilton slowed down unexpectedly coming out of the corner. Even if he's wrong and Hamilton didn't slow down that doesn't make it a lie; it would just mean that he's mistaken.

[PlatinumZealot]

From the graph Vettel was almost always faster than Hamilton; at times even accelerating first. He was basically riding Ham's gearbox like eager chihuahua. No matter why he crashed.

[marvin78]

And I say it again: Thread can be closed. At least until there really is something new to discuss. This is all the same since page 1

[dans79]

And I say it again: Thread can be closed. At least until there really is something new to discuss. This is all the same since page 1

I take it you missed the FIA announcement?

[Xwang]

In any case we are not speaking about the first contact, but the fact that gesticulating against Hamilton, Vettel has collided against him in a manner that has already been considered and punished by the stewards.
So why another verdict from the FIA?
In case FIA changes the stewards' decision, should teams start to not obey to what stewards decide because they have been discredited by FIA itself?

[SR71]

will the FIA have access to Vettel's highspeed driver facing camera footage?

Telemetry could tell us if there was steering input from vettel to hit ham, but the footage could reveal if it was intentional/accidental.

[Moose]

I think it simply makes the whole thing more farcical, that the FIA is taking two stabs at it. It's not really defending Vettel. Stewards should have just shown him a black flag while the race was stopped and been done with it.

Would have been so much easier for all involved had the done that. Additionally the claims we're hearing that stewards didn't want to penalize Vettel too much in order to not impact the WDC championship is something that needs to be investigated in parallel here.

Yup, the message that "if you're involved in the WDC title race, then you get a carte blanche ability to do whatever you like and not be penalized for it" is ridiculous.

[TAG]

will the FIA have access to Vettel's highspeed driver facing camera footage?

Telemetry could tell us if there was steering input from vettel to hit ham, but the footage could reveal if it was intentional/accidental.

What more intent than Vettel's own words "he brake checked me me so that's what you get" do we need?

[Xwang]

will the FIA have access to Vettel's highspeed driver facing camera footage?

Telemetry could tell us if there was steering input from vettel to hit ham, but the footage could reveal if it was intentional/accidental.

What more intent than Vettel's own words "he brake checked me me so that's what you get" do we need?

Maybe he was referring to the first contact, not to the second. Who knows?

[TAG]

will the FIA have access to Vettel's highspeed driver facing camera footage?

Telemetry could tell us if there was steering input from vettel to hit ham, but the footage could reveal if it was intentional/accidental.

What more intent than Vettel's own words "he brake checked me me so that's what you get" do we need?

Maybe he was referring to the first contact, not to the second. Who knows?

No, we know. Watch the video, don't speculate. We know exactly what he said, why confuse things further?

[SR71]

What more intent than Vettel's own words "he brake checked me me so that's what you get" do we need?

Maybe he was referring to the first contact, not to the second. Who knows?

No, we know. Watch the video, don't speculate. We know exactly what he said, why confuse things further?

Im sorry but Vettel's infamous post race interview was a textbook lesson in non-answers and deflections.

Vettel said nothing, you're reading into it what you want (which by the way is the point of a non-answer).

I'm sure Ron Dennis, even Donald Rumsfeld, would have had to tip their hat to Vettel for that interview.

[ENGINE TUNER]

will the FIA have access to Vettel's highspeed driver facing camera footage?

Telemetry could tell us if there was steering input from vettel to hit ham, but the footage could reveal if it was intentional/accidental.

Pulling up beside him was absolutely intentional, that combined with the contact, whether intentional or not is grounds for a DSQ.

[Mamba]

Can all this please stop now? If people moved on then this would not get blown bigger and bigger with each news release hyping things up more.

I don't think Vettel crashed into Hamilton intentionally. Go check his steering inputs from onboard footage. He swerves out to give Hamilton a piece of his mind. He then steers closer to Hamilton to make sure he sees him. Being so enraged he seems to forget to straighten the car again - one hand being in the air and looking at Hamilton. Thus contact. I see no sudden turn in when alongside Hamilton. Why are we not shown Vettel's steering input to conclusive proof the above correct - or indeed incorrect as we only see Vettel's onboard from the side? That should prove conclusively if he intentionally turned in or if the contact was a consequince of him not paying attention. I do not mean to say that Vettel is not guilty. Even though I am a fan of his, his way of handling the "brake test" was not correct. But I do think that we should move on and so should the FIA. Race stewards have decided and that should be it. How many a soccer or rugby game left fans in outrage because the ref missed something the opposing team did? They never move back and award the goal or try - even when video proof afterwards show something illegal that the ref missed. Just admit there was a mistake if they feel there was one with the penalty and move on - perhaps force a public apology from Vettel or something.

They could at least show us things like steerings inputs and so on. Hamilton's brake data is thrown around the web with hundreds of article's but not steering? In my book there is a difference between turning in intententionally to cause contact and contact because of not turning in away. The latter is less severe than the first. Both are still very wrong though!

Anyway, we'll have to wait till Monday to hear the official verdict. Till then I guess we will continue to debate in circles between guilty and not guilty and which penalty should or should not be applied.

Just my 2 cents worth...

MAMBA

[bonjon1979]

After the race when he has the information available to him he continues to lie about the brake test and insists the stewards are wrong again to punish him without punishing Hamilton.

Vettel feels that Hamilton slowed down unexpectedly coming out of the corner. Even if he's wrong and Hamilton didn't slow down that doesn't make it a lie; it would just mean that he's mistaken.

By the end of the race the FIA had clearly stated that no such brake check took place. maybe Seb didn't and hasn't bothered to look at any data or the fia report...I find that quite hard to believe. Also, in all post race interviews he has said he didn't do anything to deserve a penalty. That is a blatant lie because we all saw him drive alongside another car and ram it under a safety car...