FIA STEWARDS REPORT - HUNGARY 2007

20 May 2013

During the final minutes of Qualifying, the car driven by Fernando Alonso remained in its pit stop position at the completion of his pit stop notwithstanding the fact that his team-mate Lewis Hamilton was waiting immediately behind him to commence his own pit stop. The delay prevented Hamilton from being able to complete his final flying lap of Qualifying.

The Team Principal, together with the team manager and both drivers were called before the Stewards and asked to explain their actions. Reference was made to video and audio evidence. The facts and the explanation given by the team are as follows:At the commencement of the third period of the Qualifying practice it had been agreed within the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team ("The Team") that Fernando Alonso would leave the pit exit ahead of Lewis Hamilton in order to benefit from the possibility for purposes of fuel burn allowance of being able to complete an additional lap.

In the event, the car driven by Lewis Hamilton arrived at the pit exit before that of Fernando Alonso and when the pit lane opened he left in front of Alonso. The team required Hamilton by radio communication to allow Alonso to pass in order that he might endeavour to complete his extra lap. Because of the proximity of the Ferrari driven by Kimi Raikkonen, however, Hamilton declined to allow Alonso to pass despite repeated requests from the team to do so.

Reference to the radio communications passing between the team and its two drivers shows that the team told Hamilton at 14:56:44 to "box this lap" and required him to do a "hard in lap" but advised him some 32 seconds later to "slow the pace a little, just lose a couple of seconds before the end of the lap because Fernando is pitting in front of you".

At 14:57:34, just 18 seconds later Alonso was told that when he pitted "we are going to hold you for 20 seconds".At 14:57:46 Alonso's car arrived at his pit stop position, his tyres were changed and the jacks removed just 6 seconds later. The car then remained in position from 14:57:52 to 14:58:12 when the signal known as the "lollipop" was raised indicating that the driver was free to leave.

By this time Hamilton's car had arrived and stopped immediately behind that of Alonso. Alonso, instead of leaving his pit in order that his team-mate Hamilton could complete his pit stop, remained in position for a further 10 seconds. He then left the pit lane in sufficient time to reach the Control Line before the end of Qualifying, completed a flying lap in which he set the fastest time and secured pole position.

Because of the delay caused by Alonso, Hamilton was unable to complete his pit stop in time sufficient to enable him also to complete a flying lap.The team were asked to explain why having indicated to Hamilton that he must stop at his pit on the next lap, they then informed Alonso whilst he was still on the track that when he also pitted on the next lap he would be held for 20 seconds.

The team stated that they frequently give estimates as to duration of pit stop to their drivers before they pit and that the reason the car was in fact held for 20 seconds was that it was being counted down prior to release at a beneficial time regard being given to other cars on the track.

Alonso was asked why he waited for some 10 seconds before leaving the pits after being given the signal to leave. His response was that he was enquiring as to whether the correct set of tyres had been fitted to his car. When asked why this conversation did not take place during the 20 second period when his car sat stationary all work on it having been completed, it was stated that it was not possible to communicate by radio because of the countdown being given to him.Reference to the circuit map shows that at the time Alonso was told he would be held for 20 seconds there were but 4 cars on the circuit, his own and those of Fisichella, Hamilton and Raikkonen. All but Raikkonen entered the pits such that there can have been no necessity to keep Alonso in the pits for 20 seconds waiting for a convenient gap in traffic in which to leave.

The explanation given by Alonso as to why at the expiration of the 20 second period he remained in his pit stop position for a further 10 seconds is not accepted. The Stewards find that he unnecessarily impeded another driver, Hamilton, and as a result he will be penalised by a loss of 5 grid positions.

The explanation given by the team as to why they kept Alonso stationary for 20 seconds after completion of his tyre change and therefore delayed Hamilton's own pit stop is not accepted.

The actions of the team in the final minutes of Qualifying are considered prejudicial to the interests of the competition and to the interests of motor sport generally. The penalty to be applied is that such points (if any) in the 2007 Formula One Constructors Championship as accrue to the team as a result of their participation in the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix wilt be withdrawn.

The team is reminded of its right of appeal.

EXPAT EXPLOITS 1-8-07

20 May 2013

This week round the Globe

 Only one major motor sport event this week involving Aussie drivers. Having retired from the previous week’s event at Edmonton, Will Powers Champ Car race at San Jose didn’t begin much better. After being baulked badly in qualifying Power began the race back in 12th place, but due to the clumsiness of others, Dan Clarke in particular made a clot of himself by plowing up the back of Wilson under yellow flags, was up to sixth after just a few laps. This became fifth with a fine pass on Bourdais and then fourth after Rahal suffered from rottenpitstopitis. Although never having true front running pace Power intelligently, and some of the other noted “stars” of Champ Car could take a lesson here, ran just quick enough while saving fuel to hold off those behind. All those but Doornbos that is, and since he drives for Paul Stoddart’s Minardi USA team, we will include him here. After a dozy first corner bingle that left his nose cone attached to the top of another car, he drove an absolute blinder to, with the aid of some fine pit strategy, take out a comfortable victory. So, Australian owned cars first, fourth and tenth (Pagenaud) and Power finishing ahead of title leader Bourdais and thus reducing the points gap, all made for a good day in San Jose. All for but dim Dan Clarke in the second Minardi USA car who removed two nose cones in less than two laps of green flag running and retired because there were no more spares.

Aussies had mixed results in the lower categories. In Formula Renault, Daniel Ricciardo finished in 12th place in both heats of the Italian championship race at Misano. Daniel quailed in 19th place for the opener and 17th for the second and may have made it into the top 10 if not for a blistered rear tyre. Meanwhile at Assen, Nathan Caratti came home a fine ninth in the first race in the Northern European Cup round but could only manage a distant 20th in the second race.

Swinging down to Indonesia now for round three of the Formula V6 Asia championship at Sentul where James Winslow finished third in race two, his third podium finish in the last four races. James started race one from eighth on the grid and moved up to finish fifth and had a fine drive in race two to take that final step on the podium, just in front of another Australian, Adil Saryaguna Hermanto in fourth. All this means that Winslow and Hermanto now lie second and third in the championship.

Also at Sentul in round three of the Carrera Cup Asia, Christian Jones had his best finish for a while coming home in third place in race one, and taking victory in race two after the leaders took each other out. An even better day was had by Peter Boylan who took out both race victories in class B.

All in all, not a bad weekend. Next week we will see if Webber’s Red Bull can survive two race weekends in a row, whether Bayliss, Corser et al can come back at James Toseland in the Superbikes and if Chris Atkinson’s luck will finally change as the WRC heads to Finland for the 1000 Lakes Rally. Should be fun.

Sam Snape
01/08/2007 

EXPAT EXPLOITS 8/8/07

20 May 2013

This week around the globe

  Another weekend, another Grand Prix and another completely reliable race for the Red Bull team. In Hungary, for the second race in a row both cars finished without any mechanical woes although this time, neither scored any points. Coulthard never really looked likely to do so but Webber fell foul, once again, to bad strategy from the team.

This week around the globe

   Another weekend, another Grand Prix and another completely reliable race for the Red Bull team. In Hungary, for the second race in a row both cars finished without any mechanical woes although this time, neither scored any points. Coulthard never really looked likely to do so but Webber fell foul, once again, to bad strategy from the team. It wasn't nearly as bad as that atrocious pit stop call in Canada, but the decision to leave Mark on a three stop strategy when most of his rivals switched to two stop races definitely cost him at least one point, if not two. Webber again out-qualified his team-mate to take 10th place and a spot on the dirty side of the grid. "I'd have been happier to qualify 11th" was his view of the result. After being 7th quickest in the 2nd qualifying session he had hoped that he would have had been a bit further up the grid. The outlook improved over night though when Fisichella was penalised for blocking Yamamoto (why?? - not why was he penalised but why in God's name would you bother?) during qualifying and so lined up 9th on the starting grid and now on the grippier side of the track. He made a fine start, getting past Trulli to end the first lap in eighth place and briefly bounced up to seventh when he passed Alonso who had run wide at the final turn. Alonso soon got back through and Webber ran the rest of the first stint in a solid and safe eighth. This became third for a while during the first pit stop window as he ran a few laps longer but when he stopped, the team turned him around quickly, not changing his three stop strategy as had most of the other teams. This call ended his chances. Through the remaining two stints Webber ran quickly and comfortably in seventh and eighth but had to pit from seventh for a final fuel stop with just 10 laps to go. A stop that dropped him to ninth behind the Renault of Kovalainen, and on a track on which Alonso in a McLaren, who was regularly two seconds faster, could not get past Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, Webber had sod-all chance of getting back into the points. Good to see that they seem to have their reliability issues sorted out but in the end, a wasted opportunity.  Heading north to Finland and the 1000 Lakes Rally where Chris Atkinson’s Subaru team-mate, and former champ Petter Solberg had yet another retirement. Poor Petter actually looked scared from the cars handling and this time at least, was probably happy that his rally ended early. Chris Atkinson, on the other hand, started beautifully. He won the First stadium stage and then ran consistently in fourth place, increasing his lead over Petter's brother Henning with each stage. True, he also lost time to the three leaders on each stage but when those three are Loeb, Gronholm and "hairy" Hirvonen this is no disgrace. If you are wondering about the "hairy" nickname, just check out the footage of his sideways moment on day two. How he didn't roll beggars belief. On the final day Chris extended his lead over fifth place Henning Solberg through three blindingly fast stages and equalled his best finish this year to take fourth. This leaves him in seventh place in the championship with 20 points, just six behind team-mate Petter Solberg and only eight away from 4th place.  Meanwhile over at Brands Hatch the Superbike boys were in action. Race one was dominated by James Toseland, but behind him was all sorts of fun. For the first few laps there was a fine squabble between Haga, Corser and Pole man Bayliss until the latter lost the front end trying to out brake Corser into Druids. After being taken out in the last round in Brno by Muggeridge, this was another blow to Bayliss's title hopes. The first three then settled down to a fairly steady pace each separated by about a second. Behind them was a fine duel between the two Suzuki lads until Kagayama lost it in a big way at Clearways leaving Biaggi in forth. This became third, and Corser moved into second when "Nitro Nori" Haga'd himself going off the road at the exit of Surtees and dropping well down the field before fighting back to seventh. Series returnee Steve Martin finished 11th on his Yamaha while Muggeridge was classified 19th, two laps down on his Honda.  Broc Parkes turned things around for Australia by winning the Super Sports race on his Yamaha taking the lead after pressuring Craig Jones into dropping it at Clearways on lap 5. Parkes was then untroubled to the finish. Josh Brookes on the other hand retired after starting back in 15th.  Race two of the Superbikes was another easy win for Toseland with the best of the Aussies, again Troy Corser finishing just behind his team-mate, Nitro Nori, in third. Bayliss had another troubled race slipping back to seventh by the finish. Muggeridge managed to finish this time, but back down in 14th and Martin could only manage 16th. This has effectively ended any chance of an Australian champion this year with Bayliss now lying fourth, 97 points in arrears with just six races to go. Corser lies fifth another 31 point back. 

2006 Tasman Revival

20 May 2013

Despite the best efforts of the weather, which alternated from sub-Saharan style heat on the Friday to Melbournian wind and rain for the next two days, industrial disputes and intransigent dock workers, the Tasman Revival meeting at Eastern Creek was an excellent first step in establishing an historic racing festival that may one day be spoken of in the same breath as England’s Goodwood Revival & the Laguna Seca meeting in the USA.

Let’s get the disappointments out of the way first, the few that there were. The weather over the weekend was chronic enough to keep all but the keenest anoraks away with a blisteringly hot first day. One entrant had a thermometer in the paddock which was reading 48 degrees in the shade. Mind you, plenty of that was coming back off the tarmac. Your current interlocutor made the mistake of sitting on a white concrete wall trackside during a break in the action. I believe that I may have left some skin behind. Come Saturday however, it struggled to break into the 20s and a brisk wind coupled with a thunderstorm made all photographers question their sanity. At least Sunday wasn’t wet. Just cold.

Ah well, not even the HSRCA can do much about the weather. This, coupled with a fairly limited advertising campaign meant that the crowds were quite small all weekend although this made for a rather relaxed atmosphere in the paddock, where one could move about without the aid of a broadsword.

The major disappointment of the weekend was that, due to the IR laws protest meetings on Thursday two containers of cars that had been brought all the way from the UK were either late or too late. The smaller crate containing a pair of Lotus’ arrived just in time for the Sunday final Tasman race but the larger one containing four cars, including the lovely ex-Rob Walker Racing Lotus 49 and the stunning Kieft GP, was still on the docks as the event ended. It is a great pity that Australian fans may never get to see these superb cars nor hear the astonishing sound of the Kieft’s Coventry Climax “Godiva” V8. In my (not so) humble opinion, that sound is only bettered by the 1.5 litre V16 Supercharged BRM. Those of you who ever heard the BRM in real life or on the “Into the Red” CD will know what I’m on about.

Now to the good stuff. And this may take a while. Although the theme of the event was covering the era of the Tasman Series (1964-69) the HSRCA had arranged for the inclusion of some stunning out of period entries. From New Zealand came the 1973 ex Denny Hulme McLaren M23, from the US was the 1972 Tyrrell 004 of Jackie Stewart, a Talbot Lago T26C and “Old Yeller 2”, which is worth a complete storey in its own right. It was built in the early 50s to combat the influx of the expensive European sports cars and took on, and often beat, the best from Ferrari and Maserati. Driven, not just by its owner Max Balchowsky, but also by the likes of Carroll Shelby and Dan Gurney, the car was a collection of parts purchased from local scrap yards. It may have looked like a mangy “Junk yard dog” but under the battered, faded yellow bodywork it was beautifully engineered. Many historic racing cars are now in much better condition than they ever were in period but thankfully the current owner, Californian Ernie Nagamatsu, understands the history of this car and has not made it look any better than its mangy beginnings. With a grin that lights up his entire face he describes the battered bodywork as being designed to make the car go faster. “You know, like the dimples on a golf ball.” With its booming Buick V8 and white-wall tyres it (and Ernie) quickly became a crowd favourite just as they have at Goodwood.

The local entries were pretty spectacular too. Michele Alboreto’s fire-spitting Turbocharged F1 Ferrari 156/85 from 1985, the sublime JPS Lotus 79 that took Mario Andretti to the ’78 World Championship, Jochen Rindt’s Gold Leaf sponsored Lotus 49, the Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT23 Alfa Romeo V8 and a rarely seen trio of Matich sports cars.

The feature race, the Tasman Cup Revival Race was won by John Smith in the Gold Leaf Lotus 49 after a stirring battle with Spencer Martin in the Brabham Alfa. Martin was the only driver who had actually raced in the Tasman Series that took part in the race, although there were plenty on hand to watch. The likes of 1969 champ, Chris Amon, Kevin Bartlett, Graham McRae, Roly Levis, Clive Millis and Alfredo Costanzo all showed up to watch their former mounts get put through their paces. In the end Smith just pipped Martin by 0.238 of a second after Martin, who had taken the lead at turn 9, led onto the straight.

The other races were run in a slightly more leisurely fashion with good wins to Des Wall in the ex-Geoghegen Mustang and Keith Berryman in the Matich SR3.

With a packed programme of 53 races and over 400 entries this weekend was an enthusiasts delight and one can only hope that the HSRCA can turn it into an annual event. If they do, I’m sure that it will rapidly become the premier historic Motorsport event in the Southern hemisphere bringing in even larger international entries.

Sam Snape

6-12-2006

Goodwood Revival 2006

20 May 2013

The advertising blurb describes it as a magical step back in time, and for once there is truth in advertising. Everything, from the stunning array of cars, to the staff, mechanics and most of the 100000 strong crowd who dress in period costume, to the squadron of Spitfires growling overhead. Everything helps you suspend reality and you may well believe that you are in fact at a 1950’s Goodwood race meeting. When Lord March first floated the idea that everyone should come in period dress most cynical press folk thought it would never work. It quickly did however, and now you are more likely to see kilts and deerstalkers than jeans and baseball caps. Those of you who are a bit self conscious may feel a little daft as you get ready to leave for the circuit on the Friday morning but as the weekend progresses you notice that it is the few spectators that dress in modern clothes who stand out like a sore thumb.

From the parking attendants wearing long white coats to the mechanics in their period overalls, women resplendent in dresses and fur stoles, kids in period school uniforms and gentlemen in sports jackets and ties, or those that elect to go in military outfits, everyone gets into the spirit of things for what is essentially a marvelous, three day fancy dress party. And of course, there is some brilliant motor racing as well.

Even getting to the circuit is part of the enjoyment. You could just take the motorway and save about ten minutes but where would be the fun in that? It is best to arrive from the north, even if you are coming from the south, as the drive through the country lanes in the South West Sussex Downs is just splendid. You motor through the rolling hills and valleys that are so green they are almost glowing then you pass through a dark green tunnel of trees through the forest where only a few rays of sunlight break through, ignore the cops attempting to herd you in to the wrong parking area and arrive at your destination.

If you have timed it right you exit the car to the growling roar of a couple of Rolls Royce Merlin Supercharged 12 cylinder aero engines as the Spitfires or Mustangs go thundering their way past at maybe 50 feet or so. The period feel is immediate as you stroll past the ancient busses, breath in the scent of cooking bacon, pass the child playing on the swing made from rope & an old tyre, the mods squabbling with the rockers, the military medical tent surrounded with jeeps, the Bobbies directing traffic. All this even before you see a single race car.

And what a sublime collection of race cars there are. Everything from Alfas, Ferraris, Aston Martins, Maseratis and Bentleys to Mark 1 Jaguars, Morris Minors and Austin A35s. Some of them are there year after year, but there is also something new each time. Like the Gordini T16, that still leaks water everywhere, or Peter Brock’s FX Holden, which had been built up in just three months.

Brock, who also drove a Corvette Sting Ray, was just one of numerous Australians in the field this year. Bob Harborow was there again with the stunning Mark 1 Maybach that Stan Jones had driven with such success here in the early 50’s and Ray Jones had his 1925 Chrysler powered Bluebird Special on hand for the Brooklands Trophy. Former World Champ Alan Jones also turned up to drive yet another Corvette Sting Ray in the RAC T.T. race and a splendid BMW 502 V8 in the St Mary’s Trophy for touring cars. Absent, unfortunately was Greg Snape in the glorious Kieft GP car that he drove with some success at Goodwood last year and also at the Monaco Historic meeting in May. Wayne Gardner again dominated the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy for motorcycles, this time on a Matchless G50. He qualified an astonishing 4 seconds faster than the second quickest rider and won the first 8 lap heat by over 20 seconds.

Bob Harborow controlled the big Maybach well in the wet Glover Trophy race for pre-war GP cars but could only manage to finish 14th, one lap down one the winning Maseratis. This was followed by an exciting battle in the Chichester Cup for front engined Formula Junior cars in which the winning pair was separated by just two tenths of a second at the flag. Next up was the Fordwater Trophy for sports and GT cars which was dominated by a pair of Morgan Plus 4 SLRs who beat an impressive field that included a lovely Porsche-Abarth Carrera GTL and a pack of Austin Healy Sebring Sprites, one driven to 11th place by Sir Stirling Moss.

Frank Sytner and Nick Whale had a terrific scrap in the Whitsun Trophy for Sports Prototypes in which Sytner in a Lola T70 Spyder just held out Whale’s McLaren M1B for the win. Not only did this race contain the Lolas and McLarens but three Ford GT40s and David Pipers glorious Ferrari 330 P4, one of only three ever built.

The St Mary’s Trophy was split into two heats with Derek Bell in a Jaguar Mk1 just pipping a dramatic Tony Jardine in an Austin A35. Brock finished an excellent fourth in the first heat and was awarded the “Spirit of Goodwood Award” for his performance in the Holden FX. The second heat had the same two cars winning this time driven by Barry Williams in the Jag and Rae Davis in the Austin. Unfortunately the oil pressure had dropped in the Holden so co-driver Bob Harborow was not able to start in the second heat.

Next was the Glover Trophy for 1½ litre Formula One cars, which featured two excellent scraps. Duncan Dayton beat home Bobby Rahal, both in Brabham BT11s and Richard Attwood in his BRM P261 swapped places several times with James Hanson’s Scirocco before cementing third place.

Sunday dawned still damp, which made for some entertaining, and very sideways, driving in the first race, the Brooklands Trophy. This race is a recent addition and has become one of the most popular over the last three years, featuring such beautiful machinery as Bugatti T35s and Mercedes SSKLs. It was won, not surprisingly, by Mark Hales in one of the Bugattis from Andrew Bell in an Aston Martin Speed Model. Unfortunately Julian Majzub was an early retirement in the fire spitting Bentley “Pacey Hassan Special” while Ray Jones in the Bluebird Special finished in 16th place.

Following this was the Richmond Trophy for front engined Formula One cars (1948-61) which was one by Gary Pearson’s BRM P25 from Gregor Fiskin in a Ferrari D246 and the spectacular Barry Williams in the four-wheel drive Ferguson P99. In the RAC T.T. race Barazi and Vergers had an easy win in the lightweight E-Type Jaguar from Bendall and Manning in the earth-shatteringly loud AC Cobra and the exuberantly driven Ferrari 330 LMB of Hardman and Minassian. Both Brock’s and Jones’ Corvettes retired at about mid race. McLaren F1 designer Adrian Newey added to the list of historic cars he has bent recently when he stuffed his lightweight E-Type Jag into the wall on his very first practice lap. He had also destroyed his Ford GT40 at the Le Mans Classic meeting a few months ago. I guess we now know what he will be spending all those Red Bull dollars on.

Both Gary Pearson and Jaguar (this time a long-nose D-Type) had another win in the Sussex Trophy from Jean-Marc Gounon in an Aston Martin DBR2 and Shaun Lynn’s Lister-Jaguar. This race also included two very sexy Ferrari 246S Dinos, two Maserati “Birdcage” T61s and the stunning Chaparral 1 of Rob Walton that finished fifth and set the fastest lap.

The final race of this marvelous weekend was the Madgwick Cup for sports prototypes in which Simon Hadfield in an Elva-BMW had a relatively easy victory over Tony Hancock’s Lotus 23B and Danny Wright’s Cooper Monaco. Carlos Monteverde again bent the nose of his yellow Ferrari 206SP Dino. Some things never change.

Then it was all over for another year. As one mechanic put it to me, “Even when the weather is miserable, it’s bloody marvelous.” A magical step back in time? Yes indeed. Most definitely!

Sam Snape

5-9-06