Andy:Let me get this straight:
1) Kimi runs Lewis out of road on corner exit as is common these days
2) Lewis cuts the last part of the chicane rather than wrecking them both
3) Lewis pulls completely behind Kimi before the next corner
4) Lewis is penalized for getting a competitive advantage via shortcutting the chicane and not letting the car he passed get back around him
Were the stewards watching the same footage I saw on Speed Sunday? It is almost looking like the FIA is still holding a grudge against McLaren
1) Kimi drove his line and clearly had the corner. Hammy was being overly optimistic trying to pass on the outside at the bus stop
2) Hammy deliberately chose to take the escape route rather than a) back off or b) put maybe two wheels off in the grass
3) He did indeed allow Kimi to technically retake the lead, however:
4) had the escape road not been there or had he not taken it, there is no way he would have been that close to kimi given the botched passing attempt and thus he would not have been able to make the pass that he did.
The rules aren't that you just have to give back the position if you cut the course, but that you can gain no advantage by doing so. I think the stewards are right; he did not fully relinquish the advantage he gained by choosing not to follow the proper course and then used that gained advantage to realize a gain in position.
Not that I'm biased or anything
Jeff Templeton
00 Impreza RS-671 PGT
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