Formula 1

[DipShyt]

Raikkonen: I need a miracle
2008-09-17 19:37


Rome - Defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen admitted on Wednesday he has more chance of being hit by lightning twice than he has of retaining the Formula One crown.

The Ferrari driver sits fourth in the standings after failing to get a podium place in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and now sits 21 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton.

"It's been a long time without a win for me and the list of races without points is growing," he said on Log in to see links on Wednesday.

"I crossed the line at Monza without gaining any points. Five times and no points in the standings are really a lot: you don't have to be an Einstein to understand that this is not the right way to fight for a title.

"It's not over yet, but now it will take a miracle, like the one that makes lightning strike twice."

Raikkonen was overshadowed in Sunday's rain-battered Italian Grand Prix, as German boy wonder Sebastian Vettel made F1 history by becoming the youngest driver to win a race.

Team-mate Felipe Massa finished in sixth to keep within touching distance of leader Hamilton, while fellow countryman Heikki Kovalainen, of McLaren, came second and Poland's Robert Kubica third in a BMW Sauber.

Raikkonen has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in April and the last time he scored any championship points was at Germany in July, when he finished sixth.

But the Finn said he was happy after signing a new contract with Ferrari, and insisted he will not give up the title easily.

"Things are definitely not going my way. Sometimes it happens but that won't lower my spirits or my determination. Nevertheless, I want to win again this season," he said.

"I will give my best, as usual. I was very happy that I could renew my contract with Ferrari: it's the best team in Formula One.

"I will never forget what happened last year and I want to repeat it again."

There are four races remaining in the Formula One season, which resumes next week with an inaugural nocturnal event at Singapore.

[Duje]

Massa told that Kimi isnt his friend and that he doesn't except Kimi's help

[DipShyt]

Paris - Lewis Hamilton hopes to get his Belgian Grand Prix victory reinstated to extend his Formula One championship lead when he appears before a FIA appeals court on Monday.

The hearing at governing body headquarters in Paris was sparked by McLaren's decision to appeal Hamilton's 25-second time penalty, given when the British driver was adjudged to have gained an advantage by cutting a chicane on his way to victory at Spa this month.

The victory went to Hamilton's main championship rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari and narrowed the championship gap to two points. Hamilton's lead over Massa was down to one after last week's Italian GP.

McLaren bosses were expected to join Hamilton, who flies to Singapore for F1's first ever night race on Tuesday.

"All we can do is present the facts," said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh. "We have just got to present the data and, whatever the outcome is, that is the outcome."

Three judges appointed to the International Court of Appeal will decide by Tuesday whether or not McLaren's plea is justified.

If Hamilton wins back the points, his championship lead would extend to seven with four races remaining, with Massa losing two of his.

Hamilton was battling with Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages at Spa and cut across the Bus Stop chicane to overtake the Finnish driver.

Hamilton allowed Raikkonen to immediately overtake and reclaim the lead before overtaking at the next corner for good.

The judges must decide if Hamilton sufficiently surrendered the advantage he had gained when cutting the chicane.

"Most people who were watching would say Lewis deserved to win that race and not Felipe," Whitmarsh said. "I'm probably slightly partisan on this but I do actually believe that's what most people would imagine."

Massa - along with the majority of F1 drivers - have said that Hamilton definitely benefited from the maneuver.

[Noxide]

Formula one team founder Peter Sauber has revealed that, of the two main challengers, he would prefer to see his former driver Felipe Massa win the 2008 title.

Sauber, whose Hinwil based team is now controlled by BMW while he remains a small shareholder and consultant, raced as a privateer with customer Ferrari power for many years.

"If I follow my heart, I would say Massa because Ferrari obviously means a lot more to me," the 64-year-old Swiss, who actually dropped Massa at the end of 2002 before re-hiring him in 2004, said.

Sauber also told the Credit Suisse emagazine that he believes Massa, just a single point behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, is the more solid contender with four races to go.


"Both McLaren and Hamilton are showing some nerves," he said, questioning McLaren's handling of the Hamilton championship campaign. "Hamilton was declared as this year's star and world champion even before the season got going. This is in keeping with McLaren's style, but of course it's not true. That's a huge burden for a young man to bear and now, in one way or another, it has taken its toll. He just can't take the pressure."

[gooblaster]

Weee....
The formula 1 grand prix is going to be held in Singapore!!!
im going to watch it on tv...

[Lemmings]

I can't wait for the Singapore Grand Prix. Think it's going to be interesting... the whole night race thing.

[DipShyt]

Hamilton: I did no wrong at Spa
23/09/2008 08:04

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton told a Formula One appeal court on Monday that he had gained no advantage from a chicane-cutting controversy that cost him victory in this month's Belgian Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old championship leader was demoted from first to third at Spa-Francorchamps after cutting a chicane in a duel over the closing laps with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Although he gave the place back on the straight before overtaking the world champion into the next corner, stewards ruled the Briton had gained an advantage by failing to give the place back satisfactorily.

Asked whether he had done so, Hamilton told the International Automobile Federation (FIA) appeal hearing: "I believe so hand on heart."

Hamilton, who will see his lead over Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa stretch from one point to seven if McLaren win their appeal, said he had no choice but to cut the chicane to avoid a crash with Finland's Raikkonen.

"When the track is damp and you are at the end of the race, the last thing you want to do is to crash with him. You do not have to take stupid risks," he said.

"When you drive the circuit, you think about staying between the two white lines. There is no if or when," he added under intense cross-examining by Ferrari.

Tuesday verdict

Hamilton, whose next race is Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, said race director Charlie Whiting had wrong-footed McLaren by suggesting at the time that the team were in the clear.

"I know that the team were talking to Charlie. I would have given (the lead) back if they had told me to do so. It was a shame we were told it was OK," Hamilton told the five judges.

Whiting said he gave wrong advice to McLaren because he had only seen the incident once live when they asked his opinion.

"It became clear to me after seeing the incident in a more detailed way that the whole advantage had not been given back," said the race director.

Hamilton added that he did not know he was not allowed to attack Raikkonen at the next corner, a ruling clarified only before the subsequent Italian Grand Prix.

"I did not hear about this rule until Monza," he said. "I was going to overtake him anyway."

Whiting, the FIA and Ferrari team manager Luca Baldisserri all said Hamilton would not have been able to attack Raikkonen if he had not cut the chicane.

"If he had stayed on the track, he would not have been in a position to attack at turn one. He would not have been that close to Kimi," Whiting said.

The debate could become irrelevant if the judges decide McLaren's plea is not admissible. Their verdict is due to be released on Tuesday.

"I think it is important that I came today," Hamilton told reporters afterwards. "I am not really worried. I come here today in the hope that the judges see the truth and understand that I am a racing driver, that I drive for excellence.

"At the moment, as I see it, I am one point ahead and that is how I approach the next race."

[Noxide]

If his penalty gets overturned, that would mean everyone can do what he did.

I doubt he'll get his points back, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did.

[Noxide]

Lewis Hamilton spent the whole of Monday sitting through the McLaren appeal in Paris, facing a full hour of cross-examination from FIA and Ferrari lawyers.

The British championship leader, who had his Belgian grand prix victory controversially stripped by stewards, made it clear he is as unprepared to shy away from a tussle in a courtroom as he was on the Spa-Francorchamps tarmac earlier this month.

"I said what was on my mind as I was being talked down to, but by no means am I an idiot," the 23-year-old explained afterwards, before setting off to catch a flight to Singapore.

"I had a right to my opinion," Hamilton added, when asked about the manner in which he responded to Ferrari QC Nigel Tozzi's line of questioning.

Answering one of Tozzi's questions, Hamilton had said : "Are you a racing driver? No.
I have been a racing driver since I was eight years old and I know pretty much every single manoeuvre in the book, and that's why I'm the best at my job."

"We're talking about a skilled driver under intense pressure making a split-second decision which no one, unless they are in F1, can comprehend," he added.

When Tozzi suggested that Hamilton should not "personalise" Ferrari's argument, the McLaren driver answered : "I beg to differ."

[EvilSpaghetti]

McLaren lose appeal over Hamilton

McLaren's appeal against Lewis Hamilton's 25-second penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix has been rejected.

The English driver was demoted from first to third after the Spa race, with Felipe Massa handed the victory.

Hamilton, 23, pressed his case at Monday's appeal to governing body FIA as he tried to overturn his punishment for cutting a chicane at Spa.

But the appeal was ruled inadmissible, leaving him one point clear in the Formula One world title race.

Five judges sat in Paris and their decision means Hamilton's four-point deduction stands,

If successful, Hamilton would have seen his lead increase over Ferrari's Massa to seven points.

However, had the appeal been heard and the judges found against him, it is possible the penalty could have increased.

"Article 152 of the International Sporting Code states that drive-through penalties are 'not susceptible to appeal'," the FIA said in a statement.

"Having heard the explanations of the parties, the court has concluded that the appeal is inadmissible."

After Tuesday's verdict, Hamilton said: "People will probably expect me to be depressed about today's result, but that isn't me.

"All I want to do now is put this matter behind me and get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other.

"We're racers, we're naturally competitive and we love to overtake. Overtaking is difficult, and it feels great when you manage to pull off a great passing manoeuvre.

"If it pleases the spectators and TV viewers, it's better still. So I'm disappointed, yes, but not depressed."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren's chief operating officer, added: "We are naturally disappointed with today's verdict, and to have received no ruling on the substance of our appeal.

"No-one wants to win Grands Prix in court; but we felt that Lewis had won the Belgian Grand Prix, on track, in an exciting and impressive manner.

"Our legal team and witnesses calmly explained this, as well as our belief that the appeal should be admissible, to the FIA International Court of Appeal.

"It nonetheless decided that our appeal was inadmissible. We will now concentrate on the remaining four races of the 2008 Formula 1 season."

The appeal court judges were faced with two decisions.

They first had to consider whether McLaren's appeal was admissible, as Formula One rules do not allow teams to appeal against drive-through penalties.

The penalty given to Hamilton was technically a drive-through penalty.

However, as it was issued retrospectively McLaren barrister Mark Philips QC had argued that no actual drive-through took place, so the appeal should be considered.

Secondly, the judges had to decide if Hamilton sufficiently surrendered the advantage he had gained when cutting the chicane.

The Englishman was battling with Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the Spa circuit when he cut the Bus Stop chicane, resulting in him overtaking the Finnish driver.

Despite allowing Raikkonen to immediately reclaim the lead, Hamilton then overtook the Ferrari driver at the next corner to go back in front.

As video footage of the incident was shown, Hamilton told the court he was trying to avoid crashing into Raikkonen.

"We had a great battle and there was no need to take stupid risks, so I had to cut the chicane," he said.

"I've since studied the footage about 10 times and I can remember it vividly like it was yesterday.

"I believe I then gave the advantage back. I honestly, hand on heart, feel I did so."

Whitmarsh told reporters he believed the judges were "confident of our facts" following the hearing.

"Based on the evidence we saw at the time, and from subsequent analysis, we believe any advantage was ceded," he added.

"Therefore it's even more reason to get those points back."

Hamilton has since left France for Singapore ahead of Sunday's first ever night race.