2007 Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix

I think Hamilton is going to be spoken to because he is a rookie. If the FIA dont say anything, then it will be brought up by Webber in the drivers briefings. The thing that goes against Hamilton is that he stated that he would do a good job behind the S/C and then both times he slows everyone down way to much.

Vettel should have been paying attention to Webber, but I do believe Hamilton was in the wrong here. I dont think I have ever seen a car leading behind the S/C who goes out that wide and slams on their brakes.

And the amateur video is pretty damning evidence, why would FOM take it down so quickly then??
 
but I do believe Hamilton was in the wrong here.

You would. :p

I think Hamilton's actions were perfectly fine. He had to keep the brakes warm and to do this, he had to stamp on them or they'd glaze. He picked a slow corner (presumably where the spray might be less evident) went out to edge of the track out of everyone's way and braked. The footage shows him trying to put as much of a gap between himself and Webber before the manouever, so at no stage was Webber or anyone else behind any chance of hitting Hamilton.

The footage shows Webber braking quite hard in the middle of the corner, presumably confused as to what Hamilton was doing. Vettel was caught unawares. I think Vettel just needed to watch what he was doing. It's mostly his fault, although I suppose Webber and Hamilton are partly to blame for indecisiveness I guess.

Its probably wrong for the FIA to penalise Vettel though, it was just a racing accident.
 
Lewis Hamilton said:
"It was tough because Mark behind me was just too close, and all of a sudden he braked really hard and I don't know what happened ? someone ran into him.

Lewis' primary role is to follow the S/C until the lights go out. He shouldnt be focussing on the guys behind him until the lights are off. And there was absolutely no reason to go off line at that stage!!

"I was constantly on the radio to my engineers to tell the Red Bull team to get Mark to make a little more of a gap because I couldn't go any faster because the pace car was in front of me.

The S/C is there for a reason. You are meant to be 3 car lengths behind it as are the following cars to each other unless the lights are off. Its called a Pace Car for a reason!

"So I was trying to keep the distance with him and then I'd move over because I couldn't see Mark and then he'd just appear alongside me, so he kept outbraking himself.

He was on the racing line and outbraked himself because Lewis braked hard for no apparent reason and was off line.

"I felt something was going to happen, and I guess my instincts told me right."

Want a gold star Lewis? I can mail you one.

I don't like him you know!! :mrgreen:
 
It's actually 5 car lengths, I only mention it because he could argue he kept three car lengths most of the time, but he did not keep 5 car lengths most of the time.

Article 40.10 of F1's Regulations reads: "The safety car shall be used at least until the leader is behind it and all remaining cars are lined up behind him. Once behind the safety car, the race leader must keep within 5 car lengths of it."
 
I don't hate Hamilton like Mr. HondaF1, but I really don't want to see the title decided in Shanghai. So fingers crossed for a 10 grid spot penalty, or even a Mark Webber revenge manoeuvre on Hammie boy
 
"Once behind the safety car, the race leader must keep within 5 car lengths of it."
Wait a sec, that says within 5 car lengths! That's not the minimum safe distance - That's the maximum allowable distance! He was meant to be as close to it as possible!

I didn't see the youtube video before it was yanked. Was he within 5 car lengths?
 
Just saw the video..wow. It looked like Hamilton got next to the safety car as well.
 
But that video had nothing to do with them, it was amateur footage taken by a spectator. Therefore FOM has no claim on it.

I am not sure Hamilton should cop a penalty though, ok so maybe he made some mistakes but dunno they constitute a punishable offence
 
But that video had nothing to do with them, it was amateur footage taken by a spectator. Therefore FOM has no claim on it.

They can, and they have. It's the same with amateur footage of any event that someone holds rights for - concerts, other sporting events etc. Whether it would hold up in a court of law is a different issue.
 
The FIA is full of crap....

It seems to me that Webber and Vettel were running way to close to Lewis and pace car, and forcing him to be too close. Looks to me like it he came around the second to last corner at normalish speeds but the safety car went slower then he thought, so he had to pull out to the side and brake so he didn't pass it. In the meantime Webber passed Lewis because of this and had to slam on his brakes, which then cause a pretty typical fender bender (except without the fenders). I don't see how Lewis could have done anything to prevent the crash, nor how he could stop Webber and Vettel from getting to close to him. Seems really silly to me. Good that they brought it up so that people don't crowd too much, but if they dock points or such now it'll be really stupid if you ask me.

JH
 
I disagree, maybe Webber was crowding Hamilton.....not that I'm sure how that argument works, because if Hamilton thought Webber was too close why not slow down and give himself more space??

But in that video Hamilton had HEAPS of space, like I said I don't think he should be penalised.....but I think he did make a mistake that contributed to the accident.
 
It's no surpise. I'm sure we all noticed what Hamilton was doing in the first SC period and thought to ourselves that it will cause an accident.
 
You're all acting like Hamilton's the only driver to ever have done this - plenty of drivers do it, both leading the queue and back further down the line. They all do it for the same reasons - to keep heat in the tyres & brakes. Vettel was caught out by it - rookie mistake. Move on.
 
You're all acting like Hamilton's the only driver to ever have done this - plenty of drivers do it, both leading the queue and back further down the line. They all do it for the same reasons - to keep heat in the tyres & brakes. Vettel was caught out by it - rookie mistake. Move on.
THANK YOU!
 
You're all acting like Hamilton's the only driver to ever have done this - plenty of drivers do it, both leading the queue and back further down the line. They all do it for the same reasons - to keep heat in the tyres & brakes. Vettel was caught out by it - rookie mistake. Move on.

But its when and where he did it thats the issue. The fact he was so far off line and more than 5 car lengths from the S/C.
 
But its when and where he did it thats the issue. The fact he was so far off line and more than 5 car lengths from the S/C.

Oh please, it's nothing we haven't seen other drivers doing. It's hard to see past your Hamilton-hate on this one - what would you be saying if Button did it?
 
^ Yes. Because in my opinion he was not driving correctly behind the S/C.

Anyway, Stewards are meeting in China after Prac 2 (now) to discuss Hamiltons driving because of that video. I read on Sky News UK that he may be disqualified from the Chinese GP if found guilty of causing that crash.

Webber is still fuming about it.
 
But its when and where he did it thats the issue. The fact he was so far off line and more than 5 car lengths from the S/C.

Anyone remember Michael Schumacher's brake test just before the Parabolica in Monza 2000? It caught Button out big-time. I don't remember anyone at the FIA questioning Schumacher's driving after that incident (come to think of it, they never did, but that's an entirely different matter).
 
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