Maldonado's punishment, Spa 2011

[wesley123]

Hamilton should have been given a 5 place grid drop for making a clean overtaking manoeuvre? I know there's a lot of bias around, but that's just nuts. They didn't even make contact!

1. It was not a an overtake maneuver; it happened during a qualifying lap and Hamilton interfered with the progress of the car he was passing.[/quote]

Wasnt Maldonado interfering much more with Hamiltons lap than the opposite? I have never seen one drive that slow though a chicane, Hamilton went through there twice as fast.

[beelsebob]

Hamilton should have been given a 5 place grid drop for making a clean overtaking manoeuvre? I know there's a lot of bias around, but that's just nuts. They didn't even make contact!

1. It was not a an overtake maneuver; it happened during a qualifying lap and Hamilton interfered with the progress of the car he was passing.

I'm not even going to bother arguing that it's so far from the truth.

2. They clearly made contact.

Maldonado himself stated afterwards that there was no contact.

[smellybeard]

...and a second penalty to be victim of a driver without brain who ran into him?

A second penalty for making avoidable contact is deserved. Clearly the stewards (who have access to more data than you or I) had grounds to censure Hamilton and did so. The perspective of the TV camera angles on the public feeds are deceptive. Hamilton clearly initiated the confrontation with his jink to the right as Maldonado came along side. Additionally, Hamilton clearly had room to avoid the collision, if he wished to. As to the cause of the actual collision - I don't know who turned into whom; the steering data traces would have to be consulted as the change in direction is very slight. The obvious change in direction by Maldonado's car is actually the result of the collision - not the cause.

[beelsebob]

...and a second penalty to be victim of a driver without brain who ran into him?

A second penalty for making avoidable contact is deserved. Clearly the stewards (who have access to more data than you or I) had grounds to censure Hamilton and did so. The perspective of the TV camera angles on the public feeds are deceptive. Hamilton clearly initiated the confrontation with his jink to the right as Maldonado came along side. Additionally, Hamilton clearly had room to avoid the collision, if he wished to. As to the cause of the actual collision - I don't know who turned into whom; the steering data traces would have to be consulted as the change in direction is very slight. The obvious change in direction by Maldonado's car is actually the result of the collision - not the cause.

Note – the penalty is for "causing" an avoidable collision, not being involved in an avoidable collision. Hamilton was deemed not to have caused it, and hence did not get penalised. He was penalised for the chicane incident for marginally impairing Igor's lap, he was not given a 5 place grid drop because he barely got in the way. I'm quite sure that if he hadn't squeezed through, Igor would have been given a much more significant penalty.

[wesley123]

...and a second penalty to be victim of a driver without brain who ran into him?

A second penalty for making avoidable contact is deserved. Clearly the stewards (who have access to more data than you or I) had grounds to censure Hamilton and did so. The perspective of the TV camera angles on the public feeds are deceptive. Hamilton clearly initiated the confrontation with his jink to the right as Maldonado came along side. Additionally, Hamilton clearly had room to avoid the collision, if he wished to. As to the cause of the actual collision - I don't know who turned into whom; the steering data traces would have to be consulted as the change in direction is very slight. The obvious change in direction by Maldonado's car is actually the result of the collision - not the cause.

You know it would have been easier for Maldonado to avoid the collision since he was the one driving into Lewis his car. Just mentioning

[smellybeard]

Wasnt Maldonado interfering much more with Hamiltons lap than the opposite? I have never seen one drive that slow though a chicane, Hamilton went through there twice as fast.

Maldonado was slower but it is not a race. The passing driver is obliged not to interfere with the progress of a car he is passing during qualifying. They all had traffic and it was an unfortunate mess but Hamilton was well out of order.

[beelsebob]

Wasnt Maldonado interfering much more with Hamiltons lap than the opposite? I have never seen one drive that slow though a chicane, Hamilton went through there twice as fast.

Maldonado was slower but it is not a race. The passing driver is obliged not to interfere with the progress of a car he is passing during qualifying. They all had traffic and it was an unfortunate mess but Hamilton was well out of order.

No, all drivers are required to not interfere with the progress of another car during qualifying. Hamilton's pass caused a lot less interference than Igor's slow down in the chicane and unnecessary turn in.

[smellybeard]

Note – the penalty is for "causing" an avoidable collision, not being involved in an avoidable collision.

If you can avoid an avoidable collision and choose not to you are culpable.

[beelsebob]

Just to further clarify the impeding another driver front...

31.7 Any driver taking part in any practice session who, in the opinion of the stewards, stops unnecessarily on the circuit or unnecessarily impedes another driver shall be subject to the penalties referred to in Article 31.6.

It would be entirely reasonable of the stewards to say that hamilton's manoeuvre was the absolute best he could do to avoid impeding people, and hence not "unnecessary" at all. The fact that it was so border line is what got him such a light wrist smacking rather than your proposed 5 place grid drop.

[Pup]

Hasn't this thread run it's course? Surely you've all dipped far enough into the stupid by this point.

[beelsebob]

Hasn't this thread run it's course? Surely you've all dipped far enough into the stupid by this point.

Agreed, probably well worth a lock on it.