Hamilton should have been disqualified, says Briatore

Former Renault F1 Managing Director Flavio Briatore believes that Lewis Hamilton should have been removed from the results of the European Grand Prix after the Englishman overtook the Safety Car in Valencia.

With the Safety Car having been deployed on Sunday for Mark Webber’s accident, both television and amateur video footage do confirm that Hamilton narrowly passed the Safety Car as it made its way on to track – something for which he was handed a drive-through penalty later in the race.

However, Briatore – who was present in Spain but is barred from working in the sport until 2013 for his part in last year’s ‘Crashgate’ race-fixing scandal – believes the Englishman got off lightly.

“The rules are not precise,” the 60-year-old explained to Italy’s Sky Italia.

“They (FIA stewards) shouldn't have penalised Hamilton after 20 laps – it should have been after two or three laps and passing the Safety Car should gain you a black flag.

"Hamilton is lucky - everything he does ends up turning out well.”

Source: GP Update

FIA clarifies rule for qualifying fuel stoppages

F1's governing body has issued a rule clarification after Lewis Hamilton was penalised and reprimanded for an incident at the end of qualifying in Montreal.

The McLaren pole sitter was fined $10,000 after driving too slowly on his Q3 in-lap and then stopping on the circuit, so that enough fuel was left in the tank for a sample to be tested by the FIA.

Not everyone was happy with the British team's actions.

"I don't know all the details so it's hard to comment," Mercedes team boss and FOTA technical chairman Ross Brawn is quoted as saying in Canada.

"But we must not come to a situation where cars run out of fuel after their last lap because they want to be running as light as possible."

According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, the situation was discussed on Sunday during a meeting of team bosses and the race director Charlie Whiting.

Whiting reportedly clarified that, in future, any car that runs out of fuel at the end of qualifying will be summoned to the stewards, risking penalties if the reason for the stoppage is not 'force majeure'.

Source: Motorsport

Ecclestone: F1 rules can't be changed during season

F1 commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone responds to calls for an immediate remedy to address the general boredom that characterised the 2010 curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir at the weekend - telling teams that having made their bed in agreeing to the new refuelling ban and associated regulations, now they must lie in it

F1 commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone has dashed hopes that a swift rule change might help to re-inject an element of excitement and exhilaration into the racing in the top flight after the curtain-raising 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir was panned as 'boring' and an anti-climax to a winter of fevered anticipation – by revealing that the unpopular regulations being blamed for the monotony are set in stone.

The ban on refuelling has been pinpointed as the root cause of the almost complete lack of overtaking that blighted the race in the baking heat of the desert sun at the weekend, with the onus having now shifted from on-track aggression to tyre management and fuel conservation, depriving fans of any real thrill factor and turning the afternoon into a bland, lifeless procession.

That has led to calls for immediate amendments to be made to the rules – with the most popular proposal that of making two pit-stops compulsory per grand prix, thereby encouraging drivers to push harder and take more risks, in the knowledge that they will be able to dispense of their worn rubber rather sooner.

However, Formula One Management (FOM) chief executive Ecclestone is adamant that having made their bed in agreeing to the new regulations, the teams must henceforth lie in it – explaining that the re-introduction of refuelling is not an option due to the radically different designs of 2010 cars to accommodate the much larger fuel tanks, and arguing that in any case it is now too late to do anything about the current situation, one that he insists is not a 'crisis'.

“Some might wonder why the teams have options on tyres at all,” the British billionaire told the Daily Telegraph. “Maybe if we only gave them a soft compound they would have to stop twice, but I am not sure that they will vote unanimously for the mandatory two-stop race which Red Bull proposed.”

“We cannot change the rules,” the 79-year-old added, speaking to German publication Bild Zeitung. “It would take far too long and it's too difficult – F1 is now a democracy. All the teams voted for these rules, so now they must also deal with them.”

Source: Crash.net