Hamilton's Appeal thrown out

Well the news is out now that Hamilton's appeal has been 'inadmissible' by the FIA which is a big blow to the McLaren Mercedes team. They were confident that they could get he result overturned but the FIA has rejected the appeal. As drive-thru penalty's cannot be appealed McLaren were always fighting a losing battle to make it stick. McLaren based their whole case on last season's Japanese Grand Prix, where an appeal was heard about whether or not Liuzzi should have been handed a 25-second time penalty for passing Sutil under yellow caution flags. That punishment was in lieu of a drive thru penalty that is normally handed down for such offences. Lawyers for McLaren had argued that, while drive-through penalties are not susceptible to appeal, 25-second time penalties are. The judges said the Fuji case was not relevant because "none of the parties concerned had raised the inadmissibility of the appeal in that case."

The main problem here is that Hamilton drove his heart out in one of the best races ever, and its a shame he lost out because of his mistake. People would not have reacted this way if it was a normal race but under the circumstances they feel differently. 

Fans who think the FIA is trying to discourage overtaking because of this are just totally off the mark. There are rules which all drivers have to stick by and cutting chicanes will give any driver an advantage. Not one driver on the F1 grid supported Hamilton's move and felt that he was in the wrong. In my opinion it is just bad luck and just inexperience on the part of Hamilton. Either way he looks favourite to win the inaugural night race in Singapore, with the rain gods increasingly looking likely to support him. 

Including the Belgian GP Hamilton has been impeded 4 times this year, others being the 5 penalty gird position in Sepang, 10 place penalty following his crash into Raikkonen at Montreal, and drive thru penalty at Magny-Cours. All have been justified and I dont think there is any bias on the part of the FIA. Have some of them been harsh decisions? yes for sure but that's Formula One. Juan Pablo Montoya has been penalised numerous times and so has Fernando Alonso in controversial circumstances.

Hamilton has to put this behind him and go out and win that title, that is if the team can manage to do it wihout making any stupid mistakes.

In closing, I dont think McLaren have ever won a battle with the FIA, maybe getting a new legal team will be a  good start...

Singapore - F1's first night race

The Formula One Championship this year has been tightly contested, and with one point separating the top two drivers (as they stand today), we are in for a cracker of a final few races. However the Championship this week has been overshadowed by the fact that Formula One will have their first ever night race in Singapore, the first ever night race in the history of Formula One. Now some people might be thinking how the hell can these guys race at night?? Well in America its nothing new to race at night as the circuit is heavily lit up. For example the company Valerio Maioli, who are contracted for the lighting said the following:

In terms of numbers, the logistical set up is understandably vast. During the event, 108,423 metres of power cables, 240 steel pylons and around 1,600 light projectors with a total power requirement of 3,180,000 watts will be used. With an illumination measurement of around 3000 lux, the lighting will be four times brighter than the lights at sports stadiums.

So this might be Greek and Latin, but with this equipment it means that the track will be lighter than day. This promises to be one of the most interesting races of the season, or most spectacular atleast. However am not sure whether overtaking will be a big possibility here, as it was lacking in Valencia and Monaco is almost impossible to pass. Another factor to take into account will be the possibility of rain, with thunderstorms expected over Saturday and Sunday. It will be interesting to see what happens if it does rain at night. 

Championship-wise my money will have to be on Lewis and the McLarens to be the favourites here. At night the weather will be cooler and it looks like the McLarens look better in cooler conditions. Massa seems to be more cautious in comparison to Hamilton, who is a lot more aggressive. Massa will have to step up and grab this opportunity as you will never know whether he will get this opportunity again. He will have to be more aggressive, as he was in Hungary in order to win this Championship.

Today the FIA will hear McLaren's appeal on the Spa result. In my view it will be inadmissible even before it reaches the courts as it is a drive-thru penalty which cannot be contested. It cannot be contested during the race and will surely not be open to be contested after the race. However McLaren seem confident and are sure they can get the result overturned, but it would be a shame if the result is changed now and will only lead to all teams contesting drive-thru's. 

So all-in-all it promises to the a cracker of a race this weekend and I for one cannot wait for the weekend to begin..

Spa - Greatest Race of the Decade!!

I know that everyone is still reeling from the Belgian Grand Prix, not only the final verdict but the race as well. I see many posts and comments about the "Death of Formula One" and "how the stewards screwed up" but the way I see it, rules are rules. The rule clearly states that no driver can gain an advantage by cutting the chicane, which is exactly what Hamilton did. Had he waited till the run up to Eau Rouge, he would have no problem. But Hamilton clearly gained and set Raikkonen up for the corner, even if he had blocked the inside line into La Source, Hamilton would have gone around the outside. It is a pity as Hamilton and Raikkonen drove the wheels off their cars, and the result being neither of them winning the race. Let us not leave out Heidfeld's drive to second, which was quick thinking on the part of the BMW Sauber team. If Alonso had pitted a lap earlier he would have probably won the race.

The race started off in damp conditions with all drivers on soft dry tyres, barring Renault's Nelson Piquet, who was on a one-stopper. Raikkonen got the jump on Massa into Eau Rouge as Massa eased off slightly and then almost drove Massa off the road trying to secure his second place. Next lap Hamilton spun at La Source, giving Raikkonen a run on him coming out of Eau Rouge and muscling his way past. This set the tone for the remainder of the race with Massa in third, Alonso in fourth, Bourdais an impressive fifth, and Kubica, Vettel and Heidfeld behind. It looked like it will finish in this fashion, but with 4 laps from the finish, it started to rain and Hamilton closed in on Raikkonen. With 2 laps to go Hamilton was forced to go around the outside in to bus stop and cut the chicance thus leading to the controversy. Hamilton waited for Raikkonen letting him by and immediately pouncing on him going into La Source. It was a smart move by Hamiton, but maybe a little over smart. After that both drivers could hardly stay on track as they both used the run-off at Pouhon, then forcing Hamilton off to the grass on Fagnes. Raikkonen then spun and one would assume that this race was over. Think again, going into the next corner Nakajima went off and it was a miracle that both Hamilton and Raikkonen missed hitting him. However Raikkonen's luck finally ran out when he lost control and hit the wall just before bus stop. Now all Hamilton had to do was stay on track to win the race, which he duly did. Massa decided to take the eight points rather than risk it all. Heidfeld, who switched to intermediate tyres with 2 laps to go charged from 7th to 3rd on the last lap to finish an amazing race, with Alonso finishing fourth.   

However this is when the controversy exploded and Hamilton was given a 25 second penalty, Harsh yes but fair. However nothing can be taken away from Hamilton, and for that matter Raikkonen too, who declared it was 'all or nothing' for him. With this result, Massa is just 2 points away from Hamilton, heading to Monza this weekend.

Monza should suit the McLaren again and I expect Hamilton to be in a strong position  to win this weekend, with Ferrari's close behind. The question now is will Raikkonen help his teammate and repay the favour from last year? That we will get to see this weekend. While we cannot hope for Monza to bring the same excitement, the championship is definitely hotting up and one retirement for any of these drivers will determine the outcome of this championship. Monza, home of the Ferrari tifosi - Bring it on!!