yellow flags and a car in front with mechanical problems
 

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/158450/...g_victory.html

It emerged that Vettel had illegally passed the ailing Lotus of Jarno Trulli in the closing stages of the race in Kuala Lumpur whilst yellow flags were waving for Fernando Alonso's stationary and smoking Ferrari near to Turn Four, bringing the young German's driving to the attention of FIA stewards, including popular former grand prix-winner Johnny Herbert. However, it was ultimately agreed that no further action was required. find that the driver did breach Article 2.4.5.1 b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code,'

not knowing what to do. brundle thought that he was just being generous to lotus.

It does appear that even with a former driver there remains a double standard.

NEXT time this happens exactly how will it be applied as based on precedent it cannot be.

I see a team appealing any ruling against - but given that it will be decided by the FIA kangaroo [my apologies to the animal] court, it makes the whole situation ridiculous.

Rules are supposed to be applied, otherwise do away with them.

I guess Vettel should have slammed into the rear-end of Trulli.
Bet you would have like that, right St. D?

In case you didn't notice Vettel saw the yellow flags and slowed down, almost to a stop. You can see Trulli waving Vettel through because there is obviously something wrong with the Lotus. Vettel's hands were tied and nothing remotely controversial happened. So, no harm, no foul.

First of all - dont you dare make such disgusting assumptions and cast aspersions on me, is that clear buddy boy?

Secondly, the rules are not there to be overidden by driver commands either.

1) You're blowing things out proportion, sir.

2) That's why we have stewards who make decisions when things aren't necessarily black and white. They made the correct decision in this instance.

To be fair, even in the SCCA where I flag we are normally strict on this issue but if I communicate such extenuating circumstances to the stewards, the driver will usually be let off the hook. This is because the spirit of the law is to protect us, the corner workers, during a response to a stopped car. Vettel, along with some local SCCA drivers, got off the hook because they slowed and showed respect for our saftey, and didn't put anyone in any danger.

Thank you for the clarification. http://www.motorsportforums.com/images/styles/World/icons/icon14.gif

If a driver has slowed to an extent that it would be more dangerous not to overtake him, common sense should (and did) prevail.

Trulli was in bother wasn't he and indicated him past.

It was right that the Stewards look at it and also right that they came to the conclusion they did.

Sorry, where is the problem again or are people upset that the FIA process worked properly?

all looked fine to me, at the time i wondered what was going on as Vettel was clearly not keen to pass Trulli, but still got waved by.

he respected the flags by slowing and being prepared to stop. it was entirely correct that the stewards looked at it as it technically broke the rules, but it is not an absolute offence and the defense can therefore be considered and was correct imo. what would have been an injustice would have been Vettel receiving sanction and losing the race win for attempting to follow the rules. its not like it was a pass for position or aggressive

3) Ex-drivers know a thing or two about racing than the likes of Alan Donnely - lawyers who know nothing about racing.

Common sense should prevail.

Vettel slowed right down and held his hands up to Trulli, if I remember correctly. It looked like he was a bit confused as to why he'd let him through under yellows.

Anyway, it was exactly the right decision and anything more than a reprimand would be an absolute travesty.

There's no case to answer here. Seb was waved passed by the driver of a crippled car - in an ideal world the marshalls could have thrown a white flag out too and the Vettel would have had the full picture but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Intelligent and flexible application of the rules is what F1 needs, not uneducated kneejerk reactions by those ignorant of racing. This is exactly why the new system whereby key decisions are made not by FIA reps who may or may not have been to a race before but by former F1 racing drivers. In this case the correct decision was made. No overtaking under yellows as has been pointed out many times already is there primarily to protect the marshalls. Vettel drove in a manner sufficient to ensure their safety, the key here is the fact that he overtook Trulli who had serious problems and who was incapable of maintaining anything like a race pace.

If the Lotus was hobbled (which I believe it was), then it was probably more dangerous to slam the brakes on so as not to overtake, than it was to slow down and overtake at a sensible speed.

While I agree some rules, such as the technical regs for instance, should be black and white with no arguments, no "spirit of the rules" crap, for things like this you do have to add a dollop of context and common sense, and to me Vettel did nothing wrong. If he'd had the foot flat to the floor screaming past Trulli with two wheels on the grass that would be a different matter, but from what I can gather, he didn't.

Summit Point, which I'm happy to say is a half-hour drive from where I live. I'm hoping I get a chance to branch out a bit and flag @ VIR and NJMP soon.

You know, I am not a fan of Vettel and Lewis but I am very, very happy that they weren't penalized for driving, uh, you know, in a race...

Wow, whats up your arse?

normally I'd criticise Tamb's flippant answers, but that's a good'un!

I'm with you there Dave, although I hate to admit it.. http://www.motorsportforums.com/imag...s/laughing.gif http://www.motorsportforums.com/images/styles/World/icons/icon14.gif