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[Zekenwolf]

But on the warm down lap, the drivers will be concentrating no-where near as much as they do when racing at full speed. Half the time on the in-lap they are looking at, and waving at, the crowd.

That is a good point. And how fast was Rosberg's car going - 50mph? With all those front wing, nose bits etc sticking out? If it had hit Webber, the injuries could have been nasty.

F1 is a risky sport yes but they have worked hard to try and minimise driver injuries in case of accidents during racing and they have the results to show - the start of Spa 2012 is a great example. But those safety measures are not tailored for someone walking across the track in a blind corner.

[1Lemon]

I think it should be a financial penalty if any at all, as it wasn't anything to do with the race itself so why punish his race? It's like giving Coulthard and Schumi grid penalties for having that punch up at spa, it wasn't in the race therefore shoudln't be a penalty on the race.

[LRW]

I think it should be a financial penalty if any at all, as it wasn't anything to do with the race itself so why punish his race? It's like giving Coulthard and Schumi grid penalties for having that punch up at spa, it wasn't in the race therefore shoudln't be a penalty on the race.

Because they can no longer fine drives; only teams. And the team had nothing to do with it.

Instead of driver fines this year, they have the reprimand system. 3 reprimands = 10 place penalty.

I believe they ditched driver fines this year because the cost of super licences went through the roof, so part of the agreement (on the drivers side) was that they couldn't get fined.

[What's Burning?]

Anyone with less than two two reprimands should go hog wild in Brazil.

[LRW]

Anyone with less than two two reprimands should go hog wild in Brazil.

Well Im sure it will cross Webbers mind either way.....

[mnmracer]

Anyone with less than two two reprimands should go hog wild in Brazil.

Well Im sure it will cross Webbers mind either way.....

If he is going to be the most curtious driver on the track for the next few races, we know something's gonna go down in Brazil.
He will have to get within a car's length of Vettel first though

[LRW]

Anyone with less than two two reprimands should go hog wild in Brazil.

Well Im sure it will cross Webbers mind either way.....

If he is going to be the most curtious driver on the track for the next few races, we know something's gonna go down in Brazil.
He will have to get within a car's length of Vettel first though

He can always slow down and wait for Vettel to lap him. Thats what I do if someone's cut me up in codemasters F12012 .

[Zekenwolf]

Anyone with less than two two reprimands should go hog wild in Brazil.

Well Im sure it will cross Webbers mind either way.....

If he is going to be the most curtious driver on the track for the next few races, we know something's gonna go down in Brazil.
He will have to get within a car's length of Vettel first though

He can always slow down and wait for Vettel to lap him. Thats what I do if someone's cut me up in codemasters F12012 .

By the time the Brazilian GP comes around Vettel would long be WDC and wouldn't care less if Webber wore a grass skirt and did the Hula-Hula dance along Interlagos.

[racechick]

..... This incident may have been trivial, and Webber overly punished( has he got a ten place grid drop.? That's harsh) .....

I'll just pick up on one point RC, and I know its because you are away that you probably dont know. Webber and Alonso only got a reprimand each, which in my opinion isnt overly harsh.

Separately, this was Webber's 3 reprimand this season, and when that happens you get handed the 10-place penalty.

Ah ok, fair enough, I think that's justified then. I did wonder why Webber got a ten place grid drop and Alonso only a reprimand. That explains it. Thanks.

Ps. Webber really can go hog wild at the last race!! He's out of there. I bet he'll find it hard to resist if it presents itself on a plate!

[Zekenwolf]

Webber really can go hog wild at the last race!! He's out of there. I bet he'll find it hard to resist if it presents itself on a plate!

I don't think that it is a good idea to race on a full stomach.

[sagi58]

I'm NOT condoning what either Alonso or Webber did, as both of them took a risk most
of us wouldn't dream of taking... or, haven't we?

I have mixed views in this. I dislike spontaneity being removed, but unjustified risk has to removed. Sagi, the risks you refer to are during the race, split second decisions at high speed, yes they can be risky moves, this is a risky sport and the risk goes with it. But after the race there's no more need for risks . It puts me in mind of the marshal who was killed when he bent to pick up his wallet by a slow moving truck. Also of the loony priest at Silverstone. I know those incidents are different , but any such incidents should surly be minimised?
It's a difficult call. This incident may have been trivial, and Webber overly punished( has he got a ten place grid drop.? That's harsh)
But if they did nothing then it's condoning the breaking of a safety rule and next time the transgression may result in an injury..or worse. They know the rules.

I agree with most of what you've presented and, like you, I'm of two minds on this.
But, taking your own argument into consideration, is it not possible that both Alonso and Webber made a ...

split second decision...

Why are there some "risky" moves that are condoned, when they're successful and
others that are criticized when they're not? How do we "minimise" risks in a sport
where drivers push their cars all out lap after lap in all sorts of weather conditions?

I realize they both know the rules; but, the penalty was rather subjective, no?
Couldn't they have been fined instead?

[zurich_allan]

I see what you are saying, but it's actually the complete opposite. The punishment wasn't subjective at all - it was 100% objective, because it was a set punishment of a reprimand for each driver. So no taking account of circumstances or the fact that one was driving a car and the other was on foot, both being treated exactly the same - this makes it entirely objective rather than subjective.

I actually think it's a bit of a storm in a teacup. Webber wasn't demoted 10 places on the grid in Korea for the incident. He was given a very minor slap on the wrist. It is only the accumulation of reprimands throughout the season that has led to the grid penalty...

Am I the only one that genuinely doesn't see the problem with the system of 3 x reprimands = grid penalty? It's a bit like in football where you can get a yellow card for either one big, crunching foul, or indeed an accumulation of small niggles throughout the game. It eventually reaches a point where the referee has to stamp his authority to prevent every other player following suit... Otherwise what is to prevent the same driver performing the same minor rule break at every race?

To summarise - Webber's 10 place grid penalty was for the combination of:

1. Causing an avoidable collision with Rosberg in Bahrain (at the time there was a debate as to if that alone would bring a penalty, but they were lenient).
2. Failing to slow under yellows during practice in Canada after Maldonado had crashed out.
3. The incident last weekend in Singapore.

Combining all three, do any of you really think it isn't justifiable to impose a grid penalty? I think it is.

[racechick]

I think three reprimands then action is a good fair way of doing things and stops knee jerk and over aggressive punishment for something small.
I hadn't realised that's what had happened to Webber, I didn't get all the Info......holibobs.

Sagi, yes they both may have made a snap decision, but it wasn't at racing speed. They had time to think about it and they should have known a rule was in place forbidding it. Often at racing speed it's a judgement issue rather than an ignoring of rules ( though of course rule ignoring also happens)

[ptiberio]

Ferrari sent Webber bill for Singapore 'taxi'

(GMM) Ferrari joined the 'taxi ride' fun after the recent Singapore grand prix, sending Mark Webber a hefty bill for hitching a ride back to the pits with Fernando Alonso.
Webber, who will serve a ten-place grid penalty in Korea next weekend, angrily slammed the stewards' decision to reprimand him after breaking down towards the end of last Sunday's race.

Spaniard Alonso, however, saw the funny side, posting on Twitter a photoshopped image of a film poster depicting himself and Webber in a taxi.

Ferrari apparently also joined the fun, as the German newspaper Bild published a joke invoice sent from the team's Maranello headquarters to Australian Webber.

The bill, listing the salesperson as 'Fernando', charged Webber a whopping $27,500 - including a $2,500 'tip' - for the 'after hours' taxi service.

[sagi58]

Spaniard Alonso, however, saw the funny side, posting on Twitter a photoshopped image of a film poster depicting himself and Webber in a taxi.

Ferrari apparently also joined the fun, as the German newspaper Bild published a joke invoice sent from the team's Maranello headquarters to Australian Webber.

The bill, listing the salesperson as 'Fernando', charged Webber a whopping $27,500 - including a $2,500 'tip' - for the 'after hours' taxi service.

And, here it is: