The 2012 Formula One championship keeps serving up surprises. The shootout for the first corner will see Pastor Maldonado face off with Fernando Alonso. Right behind them and armed with the best start in the field right now are the two Lotus Renault of Grosjean and Raikkonen.
A small matter of running afoul of a regulation that says you need to DRIVE the car back into the pits and do so with enough fuel for a sample to be taken.
Mclaren simply let Hamilton go out too light which explains, in part, his speed. A beginner's mistake and another embarrassing display for that most military of teams whip then compounded the issue by claiming "Force majeure", hilarious. Ron Dennis needs to call everyone back to the Woking Death Star and kick some serious butt or he really will lose his Ham.
Back to the start, why are Lotus' so quick off the line? Turns out it's partly for the same reason Hamilton got sent to the back of the field, they start with less gas. The Renault RS27 is more efficient than other power plants and Renault has gone to great lengths to have the least internal drag of any car, Combine the two and they can carry less juice and less weight off the line.
Will we see a Lotus win Sunday? Will Mercedes' strategy of starting on hard tires pay off? What about Vettel? Pass the pop corn!
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No argument that McLaren screwed up but the penalty is extremely harsh. Worst case he should have been dropped to 10th (ie last in Q3).
ReplyDeleteI have heard that argument elsewhere, surely the penalty is described in the regulations: if you cheat on weight your qualification is null.
DeleteThere is a precedent, Schumacher in Monaco, when his time was taken away for...er illegal parking, je was sent to the back of the field.
So you are saying that intentionally stopping your car on the track deserves the same punishment as accidentally slightly under-fuelling a car? Even when some cars get a place in the top ten without even setting a time in Q3?
DeleteI'm not saying it, the rules say it. I do think if you cheat and get buster you should man up. More so since this specific rule was put in place because of McLaren and Hamilton!
DeleteWas there not a similar incident with Vettel last race or so that resulted with no penalty?
ReplyDeleteIf they had put the correct amount in Hamilton would of only been slower by a tenth to two tenths at most. He would have still been well up on the field.
ReplyDelete