Yep he is protected class. Same year he was picked up by a crane from the gravel and moved back to the track at the Nurburgring. Of course no penalties. Never seen anything like it in my life.
What irks me about his Fuji breaktest was that it was done in such horrendous conditions that no one could even see! He caused a two car pile up with it but could've been more. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHDTefmirJo[/ame] Hamilton got on the throttle after the corner, as did everyone else...and then he braked sharply.
You may prefer one opinion rather than another because it suits you; that's fine, it's your right. But don't attack people who have a different opinion by undermining their credibility. The incidents you are referring to were not covered by the present rules, it was a different era and F1 was administered by different officials too, so comparisons are irrelevant.
Polls haven't shown to be very accurate of late! This poll by ESPN wasn't a yes/no poll. They polled five categories, of which one was "None, the penalty he served was enough". The other four categories offered various levels of penalty: DQ, race ban, fine, season ban. Germany, for example shows 48% said the penalty served was enough. That means 52% of the folks polled believe some further action within the other categories is warranted. 16,000 people polled, and I don't know how representative that truly is.
Mr 308 brought it up, saying Vettel has issues driving behind the safety car or some nonsense. However, he failed to spot it was ANOTHER brake test from Hamilton (this one far more obvious), and causing a big crash.
The Elton Ham-Dashian Crane Manouver is still the most disgusting thing I've seen in F1. That sole instance really let us see the script for a brief moment.
Well the stewards gave him the penalty... I don't have a crystal ball mind you, but it's likely it cost Vettel the race or at least a significant points gain on Hamilton. If they were actually racing at the time, for sure, that can't be tolerated. A little bump at 25 mph during some raw emotion after a somewhat questionable move by Lewis is not even in the realm of a race ban or points grab. There are far more egregious things taken place on the track out of stupidity and lack of maturity that are far more dangerous. Children aren't running crying to their parents about this incident. Children aren't being turned off to F1 or racing because of this, nor are they going to be crestfallen about any of it... despite what Lewis and guys like Mosely say. It was a "lemme get your attention" bump. Big deal. He paid the price, it should be over. You don't have to actually brake in these cars to brake test someone. The engine has so much drag on it from the electric motors that as soon as you lift and it goes into harvesting mode, it's almost like slamming the brakes. Lewis is one of the smartest and shrewdest competitors in F1. He knew what he was doing. Still, it was Vettel's fault, but there's also an expectation of sportsmanship that Lewis always doesn't subscribe to... like asking the team to tell Bottas to slow down. If this little bump didn't happen, I bet that would have been a much bigger story. For the first time in years, we actually have races mostly worth watching, a championship that is actually a contest. If the FIA ruin this season with some politically correct show of outrage, F1 really is doomed.
Strangely enough Webber managed not to run into the back of Lewis,but Vettel still managed to crash into Webber taking them both off ,who then castigated Vettel in no uncertain terms. Then some fan video surfaced,but that was still not enough to give Lewis a penalty. Perhaps Vettel is now hoping for some miracle video to prove that he did nothing wrong?
Fair point. Well Lewis has a fair amount of practice leading the pack behind the safety car over the years,and i think he has learnt his lesson and is well aware of the rules and how to proceed.
The key to understanding this really lies in reading what I responded to before reading my reply. I'm snarky today. What doesn't make sense.
Lol exactly. Like Jenson said, people get less of a penalty for actually forcing someone off the track at racing speeds. The outrage from the Hamilton camp is hilarious. I hope none of you ever watch a Nascar race you might have a heart attack.
Christ on a stick. Webber was on the complete otherside of the track! Hamilton was completely away from what anyone would call the racing line, even the wet one. HE slammed on the brakes, if Webber overtook him, he'd get an automatic drive through for overtaking under the SC. I'm not sure what you struggle to understand. Again, no one is saying Vettel didn't do anything wrong.
I dont understand why Vettel was too close behind Weber, just as he was too close behind Lewis in Baku. I have the impression that the view of some here is still that Lewis brake tested Vettel ,so this somehow gives Vettel a reason to retaliate. ( which ties in with Vettel's half explanation of the events)
I think everyone agrees that Seb used poor judgment or maybe "No judgment" when he got mad and came up alongside Lewis. Personally, I think that Lewis WAS trying to disrupt the flow of the cars behind him leading up to the restart as most all drivers in this situation would. I would also expect a driver of Vettels caliber to anticipate this however and make the proper allowance to avoid the initial contact in the first place. Regardless if Lewis intentionally slowed or not, in the moment, Vettel believed it was deliberate and with his adrenaline already flowing, he retaliated with his own reactionary response without first thinking. That does not automatically make him crazy or inherently dangerous. It doesn't excuse it but I think the point has been made and a penalty administered for the second contact which did ultimately take the victory from Vettel and absolved Lewis of any blame in the stewards’ opinion. Now, that is not enough? Vettel’s reaction was not proper but was the secondary contact even intentional? From the outside, it looks very deliberate, from the cockpit, not so much. Not sure if it can be actually be proven or not, much like if Lewis actually did something deliberate that set the motions of the initial contact in action. The way it all played out, it casts all of the blame on Vettel who struck both blows. Unprovoked, if you listen to Mercedes / Lewis. What hasn't been discussed is the mental side which I think is what Lewis is deceptively good at. Last year, I'm sure a lot of the mental games btw Lewis and Nico were buried internally as dirty laundry. I find it interesting how post-race, Lewis plays up the "proper example" angle while using terms like disappointing or disgusting to describe his adversary. He quietly elevates himself while casting his main opponent as something much more than just mad or at fault. Getting the fans, the media and officials all stirred up is another, separate way to ratchet up the pressure to an ever hotter cooker. To me, tactically it fits with Hamilton’s deceptive nature too. I’m more direct like Vettel, I’ll get mad, yell that “he brake checked me” and get over it. Vettel and Ferrari need to keep a cool head. What’s done is done, they should take note not to play into Mercedes hand and focus on track performance. Even if the FIA want to support one version of popular opinion and ban Vettel for a race or two, the season is far from over. Anything can and sometimes does happen. And never does it make everyone happy. It won’t change my opinion or who I root for.
He kept a normal distance in Fuji, (even in the rain) everyone was accelerating...what should he have done? Not accelerated in case lewis decided to brake like he did?! Your concept is completely flawed.
