[soprofaxelbis]

BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton loses Spanish pole because of rules on fuel

Stupid McLaren, even i know that rule hahaha. Positive side, its normally a dull race so be good to see Lewis crashing everyone out to get to the front,

[remstaling]

Hamilton = cheat

[FreeDownloadOEMsoftware]

Hamilton = cheat

I hardly think Hamilton was cheating, but the team made a mistake and they pay the penalty.

WT

[cymnPrayerm]

As happy as I am that a Williams is on pole, I'm pretty sure the run of wins from pole position is going to end tomorrow! (last year excepted of course)

[JonnLeejsp]

How can you call Hamilton a cheat? He was the fastest man out there,but is being run by dummies.After the slowest pit stops of any team,and being in motor racing since Nelson lost his eye ,they cannot put enough fuel in his car.Vodafone tell this team to buck up,and Whitmarsh,are you up to the job ?

[ZESINTERS]

Obligatory posts:

1) Lewis is a cheater.
2) Lewis lost pole because he's black.

Now I'm banned.

[autolubitelone]

He was the fastest man out there,but is being run by dummies.After the slowest pit stops of any team,and being in motor racing since Nelson lost his eye ,they cannot put enough fuel in his car.Vodafone tell this team to buck up,and Whitmarsh,are you up to the job ?

10kg extra fuel in F1 costs an estimated fourth- tenths of a
second per lap

[UrUROFlS]

Hamilton has "DSQ" next to his qualifying result on the F1 site.

Is he a non starter for the race or has he been given a grid penalty? No start seems a bit harsh.

Edit: Just read the race thread. He is allowed to start from the back of the grid. Still harsh in my opinion.

[Indian Butt Magic]

i think the penalty seems a bit harsh if it's one that was decided by the stewards. if, on the other hand, it's a penalty that is in the rules as automatic then well, that's life.

i feel sorry for Hamilton, especially because the margin to Maldonado left no doubt that the weight difference from the lack of fuel wouldn't have affected his placing.
However, I think he had his "who, me? I'm innocent" face on in the press room when he seemed to avoid explaining his stop on circuit.

[RjkVwPcV]

Hamilton = cheat

I disagree completely with this statement. Whatever happened McLaren is paying the price for it.

Enough said.

[GreesyBeeva]

I think I'm now fully in the conspiracy camp who thinks that Mclaren and Whitmarsh prefers Button.

In Australia, Button was better than Hamilton and had a better set-up I won't denied that but even then, they stopped Hamilton way too late in his first stop to make sure that Button would have a big gap and didn't care that Vettel was caching Hamilton at a great rate on the first stint. They only care that Button would have a big margin over Hamilton.
On all the other gp, Hamilton was better than Button but always managed to let Button be in front of Hamilton after poor pit-stops and stategy for Hamilton.

Even after that quali, Whitmarsh was quick to point out that jenson was quicker on Friday and will defend Jenson everytime.
When it's the opposite, he will praise Button and will not defend Hamilton.
I'm fed up of Whitmarsh and Button.

[Stengapsept]

I think this is strictly a management problem. McLaren have been dropping the ball on-track since the beginning of the season. Just to name a few things off the top of my head McLaren have botched pit stops, race and tire strategies, and now qualifying. Also, if a lot of these issues didn't happen as a result of crappy teamwork McLaren would have had a lot more points/wins as a result, so I'm not talking about them languishing in the midfield.

As of right now McLaren are acting like Ferrari circa 2008. Felipe Massa had the fastest car on the grid, but Ferrari kept finding ways of shooting themselves in the foot. McLaren Group should have accepted Martin Whitmarsh's resignation after the cheating scandal in Australia a couple of years ago and signed on someone without any ties to Ron Dennis.

Hamilton is going to start getting frustrated. "Looking ahead to tomorrow, I think it's clear that it's going to be an incredibly tough race for us. Even so, as always, I'll never give up and I'll give it everything I've got." That's Hamilton-speak! We're going to see a really active Hamilton tomorrow charging up the field and taking big risks to get points, and I really can't blame the guy.

[JacksHH]

I think I'm now fully in the conspiracy camp who thinks that Mclaren and Whitmarsh prefers Button.

In Australia, Button was better than Hamilton and had a better set-up I won't denied that but even then, they stopped Hamilton way too late in his first stop to make sure that Button would have a big gap and didn't care that Vettel was caching Hamilton at a great rate on the first stint. They only care that Button would have a big margin over Hamilton.
On all the other gp, Hamilton was better than Button but always managed to let Button be in front of Hamilton after poor pit-stops and stategy for Hamilton.

Even after that quali, Whitmarsh was quick to point out that jenson was quicker on Friday and will defend Jenson everytime.
When it's the opposite, he will praise Button and will not defend Hamilton.
I'm fed up of Whitmarsh and Button.

Yes, exactly this.
It's not just Whitmarsh, but everyone in F1, especially the FIA and the lead instigator of this is Max Mosley.
And yes, it is because he is black.

[ftpsoft]

Hamilton is not a cheater and feel very sorry for him. Lewis was the faster on track but once again he's to pay for stupid McLaren mistakes

[timmybrown]

The rule was made because of Lewis Hamilton and the way he and McLaren explored the rules in the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying. It was not cheating in that race, just a desperate move against the unstoppable Red Bulls. Unfortunately I think that McLaren-Mercedes simply forgot that a rule was introduced to prevent such tactics (interestingly, for the race there is no such rule) and send Lewis for pole, blissfully unaware that they are ruining his chances. I know that some people think that the team is sabotaging Hamilton on purpose, but from what I see with Button I think that they are simply incompetent and this is not a problem for this year. I dunno about you guys, but I follow the sport since the 90s and I remember numerous races in which Hakkinen, Coulthard or Raikkonen paid heavy price for the team's mistakes. McLaren are one of the strongest and probably the most consistent F1 team, but there is something horribly wrong in their outfit if a sole WDC is their only achievement in the new century. They need to change something in their team, but I don't know what exactly

[popsicesHoupe]

Sad for Lewis, once again his team have let him down. :thumbdown:

[immelawealecy]

Lewis will either be a charger today,and if he is then his overtaking must be clean,as the Stewards will be watching him more than anyone else,OR he will be dissapointed at the position the team have left him in and retire from the race.I sincerely hope it's the first.And I can fully understand his feelings that his colour is a problem !

[CedssypeEdids]

Well it is unfortunate, but to call Hamilton a cheater is too much.

He does not put the fuel in the car and probably doesn't really know how much is in the car. Its yet another mistake from Mclaren.

The team broke the rules and the rules dictate you are excluded from Qualifying so that means only one thing, you have to start behind everyone else.

[intendepods]

Any sensible intelligent fan whether they are behind Lewis or cheering for another team/driver knows Lewis is not a cheat. This is one of those silly situations where the team tried to gain an advantage and Lewis has paid the price. It was obvious from the team radio that Lewis was surprised by the call to stop the car when he asked 'is it a serious problem?' The suggestions here that Lewis is a cheat do nothing but embarrass those who make the claim. Life goes on.

[EtellaObtaite]

Well said.. lets hope he will be calm. he seems to be soo calm this year. i think he will get it in control and he will finish in the top ten. that im sure of. at the start he will possibly gain 5 or more places.. fingers crossed