|
Saturday, 12 May 2012 20:11 |
 Following the assumption after Formula One qualifying for the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton would not be penalised for stopping on the track instead of returning to parc ferme, the FIA race stewards excluded the McLaren driver from the results on Saturday evening handing pole position to Williams driver Pastor Maldonado.
"This is such a disappointment. Today's qualifying session was one of the best I've ever driven," said the 2008 World Champion, who has been relegated to the very back of the grid.
His McLaren engineer had instructed him to stop on the track with a "problem" after completing his pole lap.
It emerges that the team was worried Hamilton would not have enough fuel left in the car for the mandatory 1 litre FIA sample.
But rule 6.6.2 requires drivers to return to the pits after qualifying under their own power.
Sam Michael, the sporting director, argued a case of 'force majeure'.
The stewards said in a statement: "As the amount of fuel put into the car is under the complete control of the competitor the stewards cannot accept this as a case of force majeure."
"Since we accept that the stewards didn't agree with our interpretation of force majeure, we didn't contest their decision to penalise him," said team boss Martin Whitmarsh.
It means Pastor Maldonado inherits his first pole, the first for Williams since Nico Hulkenberg in 2010.
Document 36 from the FIA states:
From The FIA Stewards of the Meeting
To All Teams, All Officials
Document 36
Date 12 May 2012
Time 19h29
The Stewards received a report from the Race Director which stated that during post qualifying scrutineering a sample of fuel was required from car 4, however, the car failed to return to the pits under its own power as required under Article 6.6.2 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.
The Stewards heard from the team representative Mr. Sam Michael who stated that the car stopped on the circuit for reasons of force majeure.
A team member had put an insufficient quantity of fuel into the car thereby resulting in the car having to be stopped on the circuit in order to be able to provide the required amount for sampling purposes.
As the amount of fuel put into the car is under the complete control of the Competitor the Stewards cannot accept this as a case of force majeure.
The Stewards determine that this is a breach of Article 6.6.2 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations and the Competitor is accordingly excluded from the results of the Qualifying Session. The Competitor is however allowed to start the race from the back of the grid.
The FIA Stewards of the Meeting
Gerd Ennser
Radovan Novak
Tom Kristensen
Silvia Bellot
Revised 2012 Spanish Formula One Grand Prix grid:
| Pos. |
N° |
Driver |
Team |
| 1 |
18 |
Pastor Maldonado |
Williams F1 |
| 2 |
5 |
Fernando Alonso |
Ferrari |
| 3 |
10 |
Romain Grosjean |
Lotus F1 |
| 4 |
9 |
Kimi Raikkonen |
Lotus F1 |
| 5 |
15 |
Sergio Perez |
Sauber F1 |
| 6 |
8 |
Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes AMG |
| 7 |
1 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Red Bull |
| 8 |
7 |
Michael Schumacher |
Mercedes AMG |
| 9 |
14 |
Kamui Kobayashi |
Sauber F1 |
| 10 |
3 |
Jenson Button |
McLaren |
| 11 |
2 |
Mark Webber |
Red Bull |
| 12 |
11 |
Paul di Resta |
Force India |
| 13 |
12 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Force India |
| 14 |
17 |
Jean-Eric Vergne |
Toro Rosso |
| 15 |
16 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Toro Rosso |
| 16 |
6 |
Felipe Massa |
Ferrari |
| 17 |
19 |
Bruno Senna |
Williams F1 |
| 18 |
21 |
Vitaly Petrov |
Caterham F1 |
| 19 |
20 |
Heikki Kovalainen |
Caterham F1 |
| 20 |
25 |
Charles Pic |
Marussia F1 |
| 21 |
24 |
Timo Glock |
Marussia F1 |
| 22 |
22 |
Pedro de la Rosa |
HRT F1 |
| 23 |
23 |
Narain Karthikeyan |
HRT F1 |
| 24 |
4 |
Lewis Hamilton |
McLaren |
F1SA.com
If you found this service informative please be kind and leave a tip.
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS by SERIES 
