Hungary Qualy &Amp; Race Thread...

[Jean Todt 4]

World championship contender Sebastian Vettel blamed Kimi Raikkonen for his own retirement in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing driver, who has won twice so far this season, retired from the race on lap 32 with front suspension damage after making contact with the Ferrari driver at the start.

"I had a collision," Vettel told the BBC. "I made contact in first corner with Kimi. I was on the inside, had a clean run to accelerate and then his car came sideways and yeah, we touched. He crashed into my car, so...

"It can happen, but in the end I mean it was the reason why the first pitstop already was bad. And then at some point the front left suspension gave up and we had to retire the car."

Vettel started as one of the favourites for victory in Budapest but instead lost ground to Jenson Button in the title battle and also dropped behind his team-mate Mark Webber in the points. The Australian was beaten in to third position in the race by the KERS-equipped Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen.

Vettel admitted that he had been surprised by the pace of the McLaren in particular, but added that having KERS at the start was an advantage and caused extra complications in to Turn 1.

"Well race pace definitely," when asked about the Mclaren's speed. "Qualifying I think it was, you know, I think we knew that here it would be a little bit closer, but unfortunately you know at the start there is nothing you can do when pushing your foot down.

"We do have a button as well on the steering wheel but nothing happens if we press it, so for sure it's a shame, and we go into turn one and you have five, six cars, you know, next to each other instead of three or four so it's a different situation."

[Ikyrotz 0]

hahahaha...saw how Kimi didn't waste a drop of the champagne? No spray, no celebrations, down to the noble task of drinking, immediately.

That's Kimi

Were Massa to race, he'd have pushed Lewis harder..maybe even won the race.

All the best wishes for Massa, but I doubt he'd have done better. He was slower than Kimi practically for all the weekend.

[Kati 0]

NobleF1 Renault has been suspended from the European Grand Prix for the wheel loss suffered by Fernando Alonso

less than a minute ago from web

from twitter. o.O uh-oh

OFFICIAL now:

Renault has been suspended from the European Grand Prix for the events that led to a wheel coming off Fernando Alonso's car in Hungary today.

Following a post-race discussion with the stewards' date=' it was deemed that the team had breached the regulations enough for it to be suspended from the next event.

It means Alonso will miss his home event that takes place in Valencia next month, unless he moves to another team.

Alonso had been leading the race up until his stop, but his efforts came to nothing after his right front wheel was not fitted properly. It worked its way loose and flew off the car later that lap, ending up against the crash barriers.

A statement issued by the stewards on Sunday night said that there had been multiple breaches of the regulations by the Renault team.

Stewards talked to Renault representatives twice after the race.

The statement said that Renault "knowingly released car no. 7 from the pitstop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position, this being an indication that the wheel itself may not have been properly secured."

It added that Renault, "being aware of this, failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pitlane....failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture."

It said that the team's actions had compromised safety in breach of Article 3.2 of the Sporting Regulations, and in breach of Article 23.1.i had released the car from the pits before it was safe to do so.

Renault has been reminded of its right to appeal the decision.[/quote']

[Quiet One 15]

from twitter. o.O uh-oh

OFFICIAL now:

Yup. Confirmed. *sighs*

Tough luck, they were at the wrong place at the wrong moment. Renault's pitscrew was careless. The penalty is ridiculously harsh, but they want to make an example of this in a moment where safety is under scrutiny, and Renault gave them the perfect excuse.

Miserable luck for Renault and Nando. At least the car has actually improved (he could have hauled home some important points and perhaps a podium) so I will just hope for better luck at Spa.

[mikathegreat2 2]

Whats-her-name pussy cat doll is thinking "you're so getting lucky tonight" - you can read it on her face

You can read it in her body language!

[HandyNZL 1]

Yup. Confirmed. *sighs*

Tough luck, they were at the wrong place at the wrong moment. Renault's pitscrew was careless. The penalty is ridiculously harsh, but they want to make an example of this in a moment where safety is under scrutiny, and Renault gave them the perfect excuse.

Miserable luck for Renault and Nando. At least the car has actually improved (he could have hauled home some important points and perhaps a podium) so I will just hope for better luck at Spa.

yep - a bit knee jerk. wheels have come off before and never has it resulted in being banned from a following race. reno has appealled and no doubt will use historical same events as the basis of their defense.

[busami 0]

Why has Ferrari raced with one driver only?

They could have used their reserve driver in the T-car, true or am I missing something here?????

[HandyNZL 1]

Why has Ferrari raced with one driver only?

They could have used their reserve driver in the T-car, true or am I missing something here?????

you're missing a few things...

1 there are no t-cars these days....not since years back now have they had t-cars

2 reserve drivers have to qualify - massa qualified, not badoer or gene

[pabloh20 1]

yep - a bit knee jerk. wheels have come off before and never has it resulted in being banned from a following race. reno has appealled and no doubt will use historical same events as the basis of their defense.

Indeed. I can't imagine Renault 'knowingly' (according to the stewards) sent Alonso out with a loose front wheel. There's not really an awful lot to be gained from doing that, you would think. I mean, it's not like sending a car out when there's been a problem with the fuel rig and the correct amount hasn't gone in.

It will be interesting to hear how the stewards have come to their conclusion. With reference to previous investigations, it probably means that they asked Bob, the guy who scooters drivers back to the pits if they break down, if he reckoned Renault knew the wheel was loose. Bob said yes. The fact that Bob was on the other side of the circuit during said incident is irrelevant, the stewards say, because in the words of Bob 'It was bollocking obvious the wheel was loose by the time he got around to me'.

[Schumikonen 2]

Kimi DOD

LH winner of the race

Massa Getting better

Alonso DNF and maybe missing the next race

Great day today.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

You can read it in her body language!

She was very.... ...bouncy....

[Silas Talbot 0]

yep - a bit knee jerk. wheels have come off before and never has it resulted in being banned from a following race. reno has appealled and no doubt will use historical same events as the basis of their defense.

Does anyone remember last year when Ferrari had their multiple pitstop snafus? Did they get a similar penalty for releasing a driver under unsafe conditions? I think it's pretty unsafe to rip a fuel rig out and drive away with it, spraying fuel everywhere and running over a member of your pit crew.

We'd never hear the end of it if Ferrari got banned from a race weekend.

Of course, the timing of Alonso's wheel incident with Surtees and Massa this wk clearly had something to do with the penalty. It did make me cringe to see his fearing and then the whole wheel come off like that on track considering the recent news...

[Argento Reloaded 1]

Does anyone remember last year when Ferrari had their multiple pitstop snafus? Did they get a similar penalty for releasing a driver under unsafe conditions? I think it's pretty unsafe to rip a fuel rig out and drive away with it, spraying fuel everywhere and running over a member of your pit crew.

We'd never hear the end of it if Ferrari got banned from a race weekend.

Of course, the timing of Alonso's wheel incident with Surtees and Massa this wk clearly had something to do with the penalty. It did make me cringe to see his fearing and then the whole wheel come off like that on track considering the recent news...

I agree. I can remember half a dozen of dangerous incidents in last 20 years with no ban at all.

[HandyNZL 1]

I agree. I can remember half a dozen of dangerous incidents in last 20 years with no ban at all.

zactly

[Persevere 0]

RE: The Renault "incident", as noted above, one can't help but question the consistency of the rules or, more precisely, the implementation of the rules, on a race-to-race, team-to-team basis. I would expect some back-room compromise before Valencia, maybe a fine, but I have never been able to get my aging brain around punishing a driver when a team makes the error. If a drive-through penalty is issued for a misdemeanor on the track, for example, there is at least some logic to the action regardless of whether you feel the circumstances justified a penalty. If the driver does nothing wrong other than, perhaps, following team orders, and the team is found to be legitimately guilty, punish the team. Fine them or take away constructors points, but let the drivers race.

Otherwise, some intrigue with the pace of the McLarens and Ferrari, and good to see Webber keeping his foot in it. The Brawns? Who knows: they seem all at sea. Who fills the vacant Ferrari seat for the remainder of the season? Who knows: good excuse to keep Ferrari at the center of the media circus. The pussycat doll? Please spare us.