Lewis Hamilton's bitter end

Lewis Hamilton's bitter end to Spa drama

 

Lewis Hamilton was stripped of Belgian Grand Prix victory on a day of high drama in Spa-Francorchamps after he was penalised 25 seconds for cutting a chicane, moving him down to third place behind Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica.

 

Last Updated: 3:50PM BST 08 Sep 2008

Lewis Hamilton's bitter end to Spa drama

Premature celebration: Lewis Hamilton on the rostrum before learning of his demotion to third place in the Belgian Grand Prix Photo: AP

 

His race began with an error of schoolboy proportions, developed into an apparently fruitless pursuit of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and then changed almost as quickly as the weather. On dry tyres and an increasingly treacherous track, he was in a class apart – before he fell foul of the stewards.

 

A pre-race shower dampened the track, but all drivers started on dry tyres and Hamilton made a peach of a start from pole. He was 1.6 seconds clear of the pursuing pack by the opening lap's conclusion, but then he hit the brakes for La Source, the slowest part of the circuit – a first-gear hairpin taken at 40mph.

 

"I just locked up the rears when I made the final downchange and spun around," he said. "It was a pretty pathetic spin but a big mistake and it put us on the back foot."

 

Hamilton was far enough ahead that he did not relinquish his lead immediately, but he lost momentum and became easy prey for Raikkonen after they swept through Eau Rouge.

 

From fourth on the grid, Raikkonen gained a place at the first corner – when third-fastest qualifier Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren was one of several cars pincered in a traffic jam to the outside of the track – and he breezed past team-mate Massa on the long straight between Eau Rouge and Les Combes.

 

Having completed the move, Raikkonen swerved across Massa's bows but the world champion denied he had done anything wrong. "We were quite close," he said, "but we didn't touch. That's racing."

 

Within a lap Hamilton would be the filling in a Ferrari sandwich – and stalemate appeared to have been reached. Hamilton would sometimes claw back the odd tenth of a second, but Raikkonen, chasing his fourth consecutive Belgian GP win and his first victory since April – was always able to maintain a comfortable gap.

 

He was almost six seconds clear when the pair made their second stops, on lap 25, although Hamilton gained a little time in the pits and then picked up a slipstream from a couple of lapped cars to reduce his arrears more significantly. He closed to within two seconds by lap 29, but there the gap stabilised until the advent of rain.

 

It was light drizzle at first, and most of the track remained dry, but on lap 42 it began to pour. Cool temperatures have a notoriously adverse effect on Ferrari's tyre pressures and Hamilton was suddenly right on Raikkonen's tail.

 

Into the final chicane the two cars were side by side, Hamilton on the outside.

 

"Kimi left me no room," Hamilton said. "I didn't want to crash and had no choice but to go over the kerbs. You aren't allowed to gain an advantage like that, obviously, so when I came out of the corner I let him through again."

 

As they headed into La Source, with Räikkönen back ahead, Hamilton again loomed large, dived down the inside and this time took the lead cleanly – almost, at least. The Finn tried to stay with him and damaged his front wing against the McLaren's right rear tyre.

 

By now all semblance of grip had gone and a posse of midfield runners dived into the pits to switch to wets, a gamble the two leaders couldn't afford to take with little more than 10 miles to go. As they reached Fagnes, they encountered Nico Rosberg slithering back onto the track after a trip across the grass in his Williams.

 

Hamilton went left, Räikkönen right and the Finn's more economical route gained him the upper hand once more. He spun exiting the corner, however – advantage Hamilton – and then settled the issue by spinning into the tyre wall at Blanchimont.

 

Hamilton tiptoed to the flag, well clear of Massa and Nick Heidfeld, who scythed through the field on dry tyres during the final two laps, but the stewards ruled that Hamilton's earlier chicane-cutting had helped him gain an advantage and he was docked 25 seconds, although McLaren will appeal.

 

The highlights of the race had been brief but mesmerising. Hamilton might have sipped fermented grapes on the podium, but the aftertaste was distinctly sour.

 

Turning point

The pivotal moment occurred on the 42nd of 44 laps, as Raikkonen and Hamilton entered the final chicane.

 

The Finn was struggling on the damp surface but was perfectly within his rights to mount a robust defence. As he moved left to cover Hamilton’s attempted outside pass, the Englishman had the choice of crashing, or bouncing over the kerbs. He chose option B, but emerged ahead anyway.

 

Aware of the rule governing corner-cutting and unfair advantages, he eased off the throttle and allowed Raikkonen back ahead – but then passed him moments later at the hairpin.

 

Charge sheet

Received by Lewis Hamilton at 5.35pm

 

Facts: Cut the chicane and gained an advantage.

 

Offence: Breach of Article 30.3 (a) of the 2008 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Appendix L, chapter 4, article 2 (g) of the International Sporting Code.

 

Penalty: Drive-through penalty (Article 16.3 (a)), since this is being applied at the end of the race, 25 seconds will be added to the drivers’ elapsed race time.