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[sagi58]

So... Hamilton has been called before the Stewards for that little "oops"!

Who wants to bet it's going to be a little slap on the wrist admonishing the team
and a pat on the back because he didn't hit anyone??

You were right of course...
https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/19208

And, that will be the defining moment in this championship...
Let's face it, if this had been Vettel, there would have been all sorts of comments regarding the FIA and Ferrari;
but, it's Hamilton and he "deserves" to be treated differently...

[sagi58]

There are so many things wrong with this particular situation,
that I don't even know where to start...

- team orders from a team who insists they allow their drivers to race;
- stewards who turn a blind eye to a clear infraction;
- a "botched" pit stop that compromised a teammate's race;
- all of the above...

Oh, and let's not forget the "pushing the car myself" into the pits mess!
Aren't there rules governing that, too?

[myownalias]

Yes, Hamilton did break the rules in his trip across the grass to avoid the pitlane, BUT I would be willing to bet that if Vettel did the same thing, he would have been given a similar reprimand penalty as the FIA don't want to ruin the driver's championship race.

The race itself was kinda dull until the rain came, then it livened up significantly, I almost stopped taking notes for my write-up on my blog about halfway in because it was so dull!

[sagi58]

Yes, Hamilton did break the rules in his trip across the grass to avoid the pitlane, BUT I would be willing to bet that if Vettel did the same thing, he would have been given a similar reprimand penalty as the FIA don't want to ruin the driver's championship race...

Just like Kimi got a 10-second penalty for INADVERTENTLY hitting Hamilton a week after Vettel got a 5-second penalty for INADVERTENTLY hitting Bottas? Notice whose penalty was worse and who he hit, coincidence? I think not!

Let's see what happens next week... any bets??

[Stephen]

For the race tomorrow Hamilton is driving a car that is 2-3 seconds a lap faster than all but 4 cars in front of him. He will be well into the points or even on the podium especially if Bottas keeps his radio turned on and gets the order!

Can you pick my lottery numbers next week?

Still a great drive by Hamilton who you can never count out. That said, surprised he kept the win - would another driver or team? We'll never know...

Driver of the day probably Bottas (who could have won). Raikkonen did a good job (despite more stupid team orders) but was unlucky with backmarkers. Hülkenberg deserves a mention - home track and fifth!

[myownalias]

Yes, Hamilton did break the rules in his trip across the grass to avoid the pitlane, BUT I would be willing to bet that if Vettel did the same thing, he would have been given a similar reprimand penalty as the FIA don't want to ruin the driver's championship race...

Just like Kimi got a 10-second penalty for INADVERTENTLY hitting Hamilton a week after Vettel got a 5-second penalty for INADVERTENTLY hitting Bottas? Notice whose penalty was worse and who he hit, coincidence? I think not!

But that proves my point, Vettel, a championship contender, got a ludicrously light penalty. I think you are letting your 'Ferrari Red' tinted glasses show you conspiracies that are not there. The FIA are definitely inconsistent and their 'letting off' of Vettel and Hamilton in regard to penalties, that other drivers would (and should) get penalties for, but overall I would say that that the FIA have been reasonably even-handed in punishing, or lack thereof, the championship challengers.

[overboost]

There are so many things wrong with this particular situation,
that I don't even know where to start...

- team orders from a team who insists they allow their drivers to race;
- stewards who turn a blind eye to a clear infraction;
- a "botched" pit stop that compromised a teammate's race;
- all of the above...

Oh, and let's not forget the "pushing the car myself" into the pits mess!
Aren't there rules governing that, too?

At least we found out that those white lines on the pit lane are just silly. And meaningless. Who needs safety anyway.

[Stephen]

At least we found out that those white lines on the pit lane are just silly. And meaningless. Who needs safety anyway.

Yeah, silly lines, they just get in the way!

[sagi58]

Yes, Hamilton did break the rules in his trip across the grass to avoid the pitlane, BUT I would be willing to bet that if Vettel did the same thing, he would have been given a similar reprimand penalty as the FIA don't want to ruin the driver's championship race...

Just like Kimi got a 10-second penalty for INADVERTENTLY hitting Hamilton a week after Vettel got a 5-second penalty for INADVERTENTLY hitting Bottas? Notice whose penalty was worse and who he hit, coincidence? I think not!

But that proves my point, Vettel, a championship contender, got a ludicrously light penalty. I think you are letting your 'Ferrari Red' tinted glasses show you conspiracies that are not there. The FIA are definitely inconsistent and their 'letting off' of Vettel and Hamilton in regard to penalties, that other drivers would (and should) get penalties for, but overall I would say that that the FIA have been reasonably even-handed in punishing, or lack thereof, the championship challengers.

Firstly, I may be wearing my Tifosi; but, the facts are what they are-- Kimi got a WORSE penalty for having hit Hamilton.
Vettel "only" hit Bottas for whom there are no special considerations... i.e. no force majeure...

Secondly, Vettel DID get a time penalty... all Hamilton got was a joke of a reprimand...
Presumably, had he hit someone, Hamilton might have possibly be given a time penalty,
if perchance the Stewards had chosen to believe that he conceivably could have avoided contact...

I'm sure you get my drift with all those synonyms...........

[overboost]

By the way here is what Kimi got for cutting the pit entry in Baku 2016:

Baku 2016 per Raik
FIA Stewards Decision

The Stewards, having received a report from the Race Director, examined video evidence, have considered the following matter, determine a breach of the regulations has been committed by the competitor named below and impose the penalty referred to.

Fact – Car 7 crossed the white line at the Pit Entry with all four wheels and did not enter the Pit Lane.

Offence – Breach of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 4 of the FIA International Sporting Code.

Decision – 5 Second Time Penalty (2 penalty points awarded, 5 points total for the 12 month period). Reason The driver crossed the white line separating the pit entry with all four wheels and did not enter the pit lane, as required in the Race Director’s Event Notes (item 6.3).

A five second penalty. In Germany this gives Bottas the well deserved victory. The one snatched away by Toto's order.

[darwin dali]

[myownalias]

We are not talking about previous years, and Kimi was also never in the hunt for the title.

Regardless of whether Hamilton got a 5 second time penalty, Hamilton still would have won, if a penalty was expected, Mercedes would have had Bottas back off another half second to give the five-second cushion Hamilton needed. You won't get an argument about inconsistent stewardship, Raikkonen got a harsher penalty because of the public backlash, not who he hit, IMO.

Vettel caused the damage himself, he ran out of talent in tricky conditions, even if Hamilton did get a 5-second penalty, with the finishing times, it would have only demoted him to second, still a massive swing of points in Hamilton's favor.

The problem is that the driver race steward changes from week to week, so inconsistencies creep in, I would much prefer a system where offense X = punishment Y, let's not leave it up to the stewards to hand out punishment, all they need to do is decide whether the rule was broken and then hand down the indicated punishment for the crime.

[overboost]

Hamilton was given the hurry up by his pit wall at the end of the race assuming that he would get a time penalty.

So a five second penalty gets Bottas his win. A ten second penalty puts Verstappen on the podium and Hamilton in fourth.

Faking a pit stop etc is very dangerous which is why the rule exists.

The other thing to consider is the 3 hours it took for the stewards to render their decision. That bollard is real easy to see! I would bet that a mere reprimand was not their first decision. Whiting surely interfered (for the good of the championship and 'for the show' of course).

[myownalias]

Hamilton was given the hurry up by his pit wall at the end of the race assuming that he would get a time penalty. So a five second penalty gets Bottas his win.

Even so, [speculation on my part] by the last lap, Mercedes knew no punishment was coming... Bottas could have dropped 1/2 second and still been comfortably ahead of Kimi, if needed, but I bet Hamilton would have been happy with a second place given where he started and the fact that Vettel crashed out!

[overboost]

You posted before my edit above.

The decision took hours so Merc didn't know before the end of the race.