A New Formula 1 Scandal Overshadows an Old One
Fernando Alonso today scored pole position at the Hungaroring in what could be seen as a most scandalous manner. Lewis Hamilton, Alonso's teammate, was fastest all throughout the qualifying session until the very last seconds when Alonso nipped the pole away from his teammate. So where's the scandal? That lies in the fact that the two drivers made a last pit stop in the two minutes before the end of the session and Alonso sat in the pitlane without moving while Hamilton waited behind him for his own turn to be treated by the mechanics. As the clock ticked down Alonso sat there blocking Hamilton up to the point that Hamilton would no longer have time to do his pit stop and then his last lap. Indeed, Hamilton failed to do his last lap and Alonso took the pole for tomorrow's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The usual Saturday afternoon press conference at the McLaren motor home - what they now call the "brand center" - took place shortly after that, and it turned into a zoo. I have attended these meetings for years, and never seen such a lively gathering. The British press, for whom Hamilton is a sweetheart, probed and probed and pointed out inconsistencies in the team explanation for what happened. It got so mad that the meeting was cut short and the press was invited to leave and continue later.
In fact, I could go into a long explanation here of what the team said happened, but with the drivers contradicting or not understanding the situation themselves, it remains very unclear to me as to exactly what did happen and why. Ron Dennis, the team director, explained that it had to do with a complicated rhythm throughout the session that got thrown off at the beginning by Hamilton himself, who had refused to let Alonso pass him. Hamilton agreed with this. Later, Dennis explained that the team was holding up Alonso to allow him to return to the track at a moment clear of traffic. But this did not explain why Alonso was not at least asked to make room in the pit for Hamilton. In fact, none of it is yet clear and the incident is being examined by the race stewards.
For me, the most interesting aspect of this small scandal, is that it so effectively covered up the bigger scandal that has been dominating the news of the weekend: the McLaren-Ferrari spy scandal that has been discussed here in recent weeks. For the first time this weekend, I think, I attended a press gathering at which the main subject of discussion was not the spy scandal. Very interesting indeed.
Comments
Hi Brad. Unfortunately I missed the session, but this news comes as quite a surprise. It was elsewhere unreported that Hamilton admitted to upsetting the flow of Maclaren’s effort by holding up Alonso earlier in the session. Given the latter’s increasingly criticized temperament, I’m not surprised that Fernando authored the pit-box delay with his pit crew for payback. I’m sure Lewis will take it in stride as he’s still green and enthusiastic and his personality has not yet been corrupted by the money, presssure and intensity of the sport.
I’m surprised that the Steward’s are bothering to investigate – what clause in the rules could possibly cover this odd incident?
Regards,
Simon
Hi Simon, well, as you have probably seen by now, the Stewards have decided to penalize Alonso by sending him five spots back on the grid. The team, in the meantime, will not be allowed to earn any points at this race, although it is appealing the decision.
I agree with you that it does seem odd that the stewards have done this. While there is a rule against blocking another competitor, the rule that the Stewards chose to cite here is this famous 151c rule about actions that “are considered prejudicial to the interests of the competition and to the interests of motor sport generally.”
A rule that can be called on to cure all sorts of problems – from the spying scandal (interestingly) to this incident.
My feeling is that Alonso must have done it on purpose because he knew that Hamilton was faster than him all weekend and would likely get the pole. I also feel that Hamilton comes out of this soliciting even greater respect, while Alonso just dropped down a few more notches. It may end up becoming a defining moment. I think Hamilton is a more resilient character, and I cannot imagine him ever trying to win through tactics like that.
… bit of a correction to what I said above: it would be interesting to note, having said all that, how bad Hamilton’s disobeying of the team order was. His excuse for not allowing Hamilton to pass him during the qualifying was that Raikkonen was there too, and he did not want to give any advantage to Raikkonen.
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