Lewis Hamilton claimed his third pole position of the season at the Circuit de Catalunya. The 2008 world champion will share the front row with the surprisingly quick Pastor Maldonado in the Williams.
Home crowd favourite Fernando Alonso will start third in the revised Ferrari, ahead of Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez.
In a qualifying session full of surprises, Hamilton was half-a-second quicker than Maldonado, who had been fast in final practice, setting the quickest time in Q2, and then held provisional pole for a moment.
Hamilton was the only frontrunner to do two runs in Q3, and his initial lap time stood until crowd favourite Fernando Alonso in the much-improved Ferrari went faster, followed by the incredible Maldonado.
But Lewis held the advantage and produced a lap time of one minute, 21.707 seconds to give McLaren their 150th pole position in Formula One. He then stopped on track (possibly due to insufficient fuel) on the slowing-down lap.
Just behind Maldonado, Alonso held third ahead of the Lotus pair of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen, who again proved extremely competitive.
Both Saubers made it into Q3, with Sergio Perez taking sixth while Kamui Kobayashi is in tenth. But a hydraulic problem forced the Japanese driver to stop at turn three on his way back to the pits.
Nico Rosberg was seventh after just one early run in Q3, while both Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher elated to save tyres and not do any flying laps in Q3, so qualified eighth and ninth for Red Bull and Mercedes respectively.
The biggest shock in qualifying was the elimination of both Jenson Button and Mark Webber in Q2.
Button complained of understeer in the McLaren while Webber believed a single run was enough to make it through into the top ten shootout. Sadly, this was not the case for the Red Bull driver. The pair will start the Spanish Grand Prix on row six.
It was also a bad session for Felipe Massa as well, with the Ferrari driver registering his worst grid position so far in this already-disappointing season with P17. The Brazilian lines up behind the Force Indias and Toro Rossos on Sunday’s grid.
With Maldonado setting impressive times at the front, his Williams team-mate Bruno Senna tried too hard in his efforts to keep up – spinning into the gravel at the end of Q1.
While at the back, Vitaly Petrov outqualified Caterham team-mate Heikki Kovalainen for the first time. Charles Pic was quicker than his Marussia team-mate Timo Glock. As for HRT, Narain Karthikeyan hopes the race stewards can grant him permission to race following an apparent mechanical issues.
UPDATE: Pastor Maldonado will start from pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton was excluded from qualifying for not returning to the pits after setting his best lap.
Hamilton’s McLaren was found to not have had enough fuel on board to comply with the rules that demand a car returns to the pits under its own power after qualifying with enough petrol for a one-litre sample to be provided to the FIA. He will start the race from the back of the grid.
Revised grid positions – Circuit de Catalunya:
1. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m22.285s
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m22.302s
3. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m22.424s
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m22.487s
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.533s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.005s
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault No time
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes No time
9. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari No time
10. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.944s
11. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.977s
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m23.125s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m23.177s
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.265s
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.442s
16. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.444s
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m24.981s
18. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m25.277s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m25.507s
20. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m26.582s
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.032s
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m27.555s
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m31.122s
24. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.707s*
107 per cent time: 1m28.363s
*Sent to back of grid for not having enough fuel after Q3
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton celebrates his ‘best’ qualifying after taking his third pole position of the season. Autosport.com has the story.
Lewis Hamilton says qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix was one of the best he has ever had after securing his third pole position of the year.
The McLaren driver stormed to the top spot in the dying seconds of the session with a lap of 1m21.707s, the Briton the only driver to lap the Spanish track in less than 82 seconds.
Hamilton, who beat Williams’s Pastor Maldonado to pole, was elated with the performance.
“It was a fantastic qualifying session for me, very very happy with it – one of the best I ever had,” said Hamilton. “Amazing job by the guys in the garage and thanks to guys in factory who have brought upgrades.
“The car feels great. It is a great day for the team I think. I really feel fantastic. I feel very, very happy.
“You can normally be happy with a position but for some reason this feels better than other pole positions because you are looking for a perfect position. It is an incredible feeling you have.”
Hamilton, who is yet to win a grand prix this year, is under no illusions that the race will be easy, however.
“I am very much aware that I have incredibly tough race tomorrow with these guys who are massively quick and how tricky it is in general,” he said. “It will mean a lot to me to win in Spain.
“It has always been a good place for me, beautiful weather and people are incredible and the support I have continues to grow year by year and it has become such a pleasure. To win where you have such a big fan base will be fantastic.”
Hamilton failed to return to the pits after his final qualifying lap, a move that is likely to be investigated by the stewards as drivers are required to make their way back to the pitlane.
“I stopped on track, I don’t have any idea why,” he said.
Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was not surprised by the front-row start in the Spanish Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the details.
Pastor Maldonado is not surprised to have been so fast during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Venezuelan was fast in all three segments of qualifying, culminating in Williams’s first front row start in the dry since Mark Webber started the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix from second position.
“[On Friday] we thought the top ten was possible, and this morning I was quite surprised by our performance, because our car was so quick lower fuel,” he said.
“So this morning we thought it was possible.”
With the Williams already having shown consistent race pace in the first four grands prix of the season, Maldonado is also confident that he can turn the grid position into a solid results in tomorrow’s race.
“I think we have been working so hard since the beginning of the year, trying to understand these tyres and develop our cars around the tyres,” he added.
“And we actually made a good step forward for this race. The car looks consistent, especially in race pace, so it’s a great feeling to be here, [my] first time in top three.
“We improved our worst thing, which was qualifying pace. So I am happy for the team, for my country and for myself.”
Qualifying third for the Spanish Grand Prix is proof that Ferrari is heading in the right direction, according to Fernando Alonso.
Having already stated that the Spanish race was a crucial one for the squad, Alonso made the qualifying session count, comfortably making it into Q3 before locking down a second row start for tomorrow’s race.
“Thanks to the updates we took a step forward in right direction,” said Alonso.
“Now we arrive to Q3 in a more comfortable way, and in Q3 the level is good. If I had 100 more tyres I would do same time, so [there is no] more time left.
“For us it was impossible even to dream about being in the top three in the first four races. We were arriving in Q3 with no new sets [of tyres] left, so that is a step forward.
“I think P3 is over performing what we can do at the moment, but I am happy. There is much more to come.”
Alonso also said that tomorrow’s race will be a golden opportunity for Ferrari to steal some points from the likes of Red Bull Racing, which struggled in qualifying.
“The points are given tomorrow, not today,” he added.
“We did as much as we could today we are happy to start in much better position than we did in the previous grand prix. But we need the points tomorrow. These positions are mixed a little bit, with some of the people in front [of us in] the championship starting at the back tomorrow.
“So we need to take [advantage] of this good position today and score more points than them.”
Team-mate Felipe Massa qualified in 17th position.
Source: Autosport.com
Sauber’s Sergio Perez was left feeling happy with sixth on the grid. Autosport.com has the story.
Sergio Perez says he could have achieved a better result in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, even if he admitted the session had gone better than expected.
The Sauber driver continued to show the potential of the Swiss squad’s car by qualifying in sixth position at Barcelona.
But after finishing less than two tenths away from third, the Mexican admitted he was frustrated to not have extracted something extra from his car.
“After the free practice sessions hadn’t been so easy for me, in qualifying the car really felt good,” said Perez. “I think the result is what we were hoping for and perhaps a little bit better than expected.
“The competition is so close that a tenth of a second can really make a big difference, and you always think you could go a bit faster. In this regard it is almost frustrating having finished sixth, because a slightly better position was within reach.
“However, I think we can have a strong race performance. A lot will be down to tyre degradation tomorrow, which is quite high here. I want to do a perfect race and get the maximum possible points, or even come home with a nice surprise.”
Team-mate Kamui Kobayashi will start from tenth position after having to stop his car at the end of the Q2 because of a hydraulic problem.
The Japanese believes a place in the top five would have been possible if he had been able to run in Q3.
“We really had a good performance in qualifying, and I could feel I had not extracted the maximum potential out of the car yet,” he said. “In Q1 I had a bit of traffic and also on my fastest lap in Q2 there was still room for improvement from me.
“I believe I could have been fighting for a top five position, and this was what I was looking forward to.”
Michael Schumacher has backed his decision not to complete a timed lap in the third part of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The German was one of three drivers to not complete a flying lap in Q3, opting instead to save a set of tyres for the race.
As a result, Schumacher will start from ninth position, two spots behind his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
“We wanted to save tyres this afternoon, which dictated how we managed Q3,” he said.
“I did not complete a timed lap, and now I still have the choice of what tyres to start on tomorrow. Equally, I thought it was better to start from ninth on the grid than eighth, and be on the clean side.”
According to Schumacher, the decision to not run could well be crucial in what is shaping up to be a tight race.
“It’s clear that some teams have taken a step forward after the three-week break, and I would also say that the field is now even closer together.
“It’s going to be a tight race tomorrow, although the forecast says it should be cooler, and it will be interesting to see if our choices today pay off at the end of the race.”
Source: Autosport.com
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean is happy with second-row slot after having missed final practice in Spain. Autosport.com has the details.
Romain Grosjean is pleased to have qualified on the second row for the Spanish Grand Prix despite having missed free practice three because of a problem with his Lotus.
Grosjean will start tomorrow’s race fourth, one place head of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
GrWhile the Franco-Swiss driver admitted his Q3 lap wasn’t perfect, he said that fourth was a good result considering the practice running he missed out on.
“It was a good performance from the team, especially as I didn’t run in FP3 because of a fuel pressure problem,” he said.
“For the set-up we went from what we’d found out yesterday, and it worked pretty well. Everyone did a good job to get the car ready for qualifying after the problems of the morning.
“We can be happy with what we have achieved – of course you always want more but this is the result for today. I think that I could have been a little bit quicker, not too much more.
“Tomorrow is going to be long; our race pace did not look too bad but, of course, we’ll have to manage tyre degradation.”
Raikkonen agreed that Lotus’ race pace looks promising ahead of the race.
“We’ll see how it goes tomorrow in the race; the car has usually been better on Sunday than it has been on Saturday, so if that’s the case tomorrow we’ll be pretty happy,” said the Finn.
“A lot of small details will decide the race, and the tyres are one aspect. Our long runs were promising [on Friday], so we’re not looking too bad.
“Hopefully we get a reasonable start and we can be up at the right end and go for it. I think we’ve got a good car and that’s the main thing.”
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel has commented that the Red Bull do not have the pace to be in the top five in qualifying. The world champion will start in eighth position. Autosport.com has the story.
Sebastian Vettel believes he would not have been able to qualify in the top five even if he had set a time in Q3 at Barcelona.
The German decided not to complete a timed lap in the final qualifying segment in order to save tyres for tomorrow’s race, a decision he believes will be crucial.
Vettel will start from eighth position.
The world champion said, however, that Red Bull did not have the pace to be in the top five today.
“A pretty different session today; it was extremely tight,” said Vettel. “From Q1 onwards we decided to go on the soft tyres. The first run in Q2 wasn’t good enough, so I had to go again and it was clear then that if we made it to Q3, we wouldn’t have any new soft tyres left.
“I think we got the maximum at the end there in Q3, we saved some sets of tyres, which we thought going into qualifying would be crucial, but we didn’t have the pace of the top five cars today. Tyres will be important tomorrow, so let’s see what we can do.”
Team-mate Mark Webber completed a disappointed day for Red Bull after being knocked out in Q2.
The Australian did just one run in the session, thinking it would be enough to make it into Q3, but ended up dropping down to 12th position.
“I’m pretty surprised by that; the guys did a good job with the car and were pushing hard all weekend,” he said. “We were quick, but the track kept getting faster and we got caught out. My first timed lap in Q2 wasn’t fast enough. I was P2 after the first lap and we thought we had done enough, but in the end it wasn’t.
“I didn’t use two sets of tyres in Q2, which it turns out wasn’t the right thing to do. I was told not to go out again, but the way that the track improved was a surprise to all of us. We were very strong in the first part of Q2 and I was happy with how I drove my lap. It’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Jenson Button is unsure where the speed he showed in Friday practice has gone after failing to reach the last segment of qualifying at Barcelona.
The Englishman had complained about a lack of balance on the faster soft tyre through qualifying and this morning’s practice session, but the team was unable to make the changes needed to solve the issue despite adding more front wing during Q2.
“To be out in Q2, not by a mistake but by not being quick enough is really surprising. It is going to be a tough afternoon tomorrow,” said Button, who had been quickest on Friday.
“I didn’t get anywhere near the balance I had yesterday in practice. I had a very loose rear end for most of qualifying and then we added more front wing at the end because we had some understeer in the high speed, we did that and that added to my problems.”
It is the first time since Spa 2011 that Button has failed to get into Q3. He will line up next to Mark Webber, who qualified in 12th position, but has saved four sets of new tyres, which Button thinks could be decisive in tomorrow’s race.
“I’m out in Q2, and it doesn’t really help because we don’t have any new tyres left. It is very close around me, not many people have new tyres, but Webber does,” he said.
“If the balance is like this I am going to struggle [in the race], but hopefully we can work out why that is.”
Source: Autosport.com
There you have your paid driver. Not in a Red Bull, or a Ferrari, or a McLaren….in a Williams, you m.f.***** !!!!!
Despite not setting a lap time quick enough in qualifying, race stewards have decided to allow HRT’s Narain Karthikeyan to take part in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the details.
Narain Karthikeyan will be allowed to take part in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday despite having failed to set a time within the 107 per cent in qualifying.
The Indian finished 8.5 seconds off the pace in Q1 after having to stop his car before he could complete a second run.
But the HRT driver will race in Spain after the stewards deemed his time in final practice was fast enough to prove what he could have done.
“We were going to go on the second set of tyres but we discovered some problems and due to safety concerns, not only for myself but the others, we decided that the best thing was to not go back out,” explained Karthikeyan, who failed to set a time on Friday.
“It seems like my bad luck continues to follow me this weekend and, although I’m disappointed about that, there’s nothing else I can do but keep giving it my best shot.”
Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber believes a front row for the Spanish Grand Prix was possible. Autosport.com has the news.
Mark Webber believes that a front row grid position was possible despite failing to make it through to Q3 at Barcelona.
Webber stayed in the pits at the end of Q2 after posting a time that put him in second position behind Lewis Hamilton early in the session.
The Australian had planned to save a set of soft tyres for Q3, but ultimately the plan backfired on him as the track conditions improved and he was knocked out.
Initially Webber was confident that his lap was good enough to take him through to Q3.
“I think in Q2 just how much the track was improving caught us out. My first lap in Q2 was competitive, P2 to Lewis, but one tenth of a second was enough to cost us a front row.
“As soon as I got back they said ‘Mark perfect lap, get ready for Q3’, but with 60 seconds to go I started to shit myself and that was it,” he said.
“I think I was in a position definitely to go through to Q3 having used one set but we used them at the wrong time because we got exposed by the track positions. In China and Malaysia the track conditions haven’t changed that much and that is what bit us in the arse.”
However, the policy did allow Webber to save four sets of tyres for tomorrow’s race, and he is confident that he will be able to make the most of his predicament after setting competitive times throughout the weekend.
“I was still very encouraged by the times we did in relation to other people, but then ultimately the track manipulated itself into a position where my first run wasn’t enough,” he said.
“I have a lot of options tomorrow, three sets of primes and a new set of options.”
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has blamed traffic for his poor qualifying performance at the Circuit de Catalunya. The Brazilian will start the race down in P17. Autosport.com has the story.
Felipe Massa blamed traffic in Q2 for his disappointing 17th place on the Spanish Grand Prix grid.
While the Brazilian’s Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso fought for pole and qualified third in the upgraded car, Massa brought up the rear of the Q2 field – but said the result did not reflect his pace at all.
“I had traffic. I was on my lap and there were many cars going slow on their out-laps,” he said. “I had to completely change the braking positions, so I lost four tenths or half a second for sure because of this. It’s a shame. Looking at how competitive qualifying was, it’s a lot of positions.”
Asked if he was certain he would be fully competitive in the race, Massa replied: “I definitely expect a much stronger race tomorrow.”
Although Ferrari introduced several new parts for Barcelona, Massa hinted that Alonso might have gone beyond the car’s natural potential to get as high as third.
“I think our step was like we expected, to be honest. It was not more than we expected, it was like we expected. Fernando did a great job, definitely, in qualifying,” said Massa.
“But what we see in the evolution of the car and how it improved, it was not more or less than we expected in terms of numbers and everything. It’s not really a huge step forward. It’s a little step.”
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has all but admitted that Lewis Hamilton’s pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix hangs in the balance, ahead of a stewards’ meeting to discuss the circumstances that forced the British driver to stop on track after his qualifying lap.
Hamilton secured McLaren’s 150th pole position at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday, but shortly after taking the chequered flag he was ordered to stop by the team because of an unidentified problem.
Under the rules, drivers are supposed to return to parc ferme under their own power and with a minimum of one-litre of fuel on board to be able to supply a sample to the FIA.
It is not acceptable for drivers to stop early simply to save petrol for the sample – because that would give them a competitive advantage as they could run with less fuel, and therefore less weight, during their qualifying lap.
Following a directive issued at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, after Lewis Hamilton and McLaren were given a reprimand and a $10,000 fine for stopping deliberately on a slowing down lap after qualifying to save fuel, the FIA has made it clear that only genuine technical problems would be acceptable.
FIA race director Charlie Whiting said in a note issued on race morning in Canada: “Any team whose car stops on the slowing down lap after the race will be asked by the stewards to explain why this happened.
“If they are not satisfied that the reasons were beyond the control of the driver or team, and feel that this has been done deliberately to gain a competitive advantage, appropriate action will be taken.”
Whitmarsh would not expand on the reasons for Hamilton being told to stop, but said that the FIA had been able to take its sample.
“There was enough fuel to take a fuel sample, but we stopped the car – and we are now talking to the stewards about that,” he explained. “There was 1.3-litres of fuel taken out of the car.”
Rules state that cars must have one litre of fuel onboard.
“Competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the Event.
“Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power.”
When asked if he was confident about Hamilton’s pole position standing, he said: “I don’t know. But I hope so – Lewis did a fantastic job throughout that session and we have all seen how difficult it is at the moment to be consistent, to switch everything on at the right time.
“Lewis and his team did a great job, so it was a massive margin by the situation within F1 at the moment so undoubtedly he deserves to be there.”
Whitmarsh refused to be drawn on offering any insight into the reasons behind Hamilton being given the order to stop.
But a suggestion that the problem was in the pits rather than on the car could point to a problem in the pits meaning not enough fuel went into the car ahead of his final run.
“It is a technical problem that happened in the garage that didn’t impede the performance of the car in anyway, and we stopped the car when it had 1.3-litres of fuel in the car,” said Whitmarsh.
He added: “There was a technical problem that led to that situation. I think it is not for me to decide; but I would believe that to be a force majeure but it is up to the stewards to decide.”
Whitmarsh was adamant, however, that Hamilton had enough fuel in the car to be able to complete his in-lap and supply the one litre sample.
Source: Autosport.com
News update from Autosport.com:
Pastor Maldonado will start from pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton was excluded from qualifying for not returning to the pits after setting his best lap.
Hamilton’s McLaren was found to not have had enough fuel on board to comply with the rules that demand a car returns to the pits under its own power after qualifying with enough petrol for a one-litre sample to be provided to the FIA.
Only under circumstances of ‘force majeure’ are drivers allowed to stop on that slowing down lap – and stopping deliberately because there is not enough fuel to finish the tour and supply that sample is not acceptable.
Following a meeting with the stewards at the Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren was informed that the ‘technical’ problem that it suggested was the reason for Hamilton being told to stop was not enough grounds to justify its action.
The team explained that not enough fuel had been put into the car ahead of the final qualifying lap – which the FIA did not agree was enough reason for ‘force majeure’
As a result, the stewards ruled that Hamilton be excluded from qualifying, but would be allowed to start from the back of the grid.
“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,” said the stewards in a statement.
“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 result means that Maldonado will start ahead of Fernando Alonso for Sunday’s race.
Speaking before being informed of the penalty, Hamilton reckoned that in the event of a penalty he could still deliver good race pace.
“Looking at our long runs, I think our long runs were not too bad,” he said. “The option tyre was not spectacular with the set-up we had, but we have made some changes so it should be better in that sense.
“The long run on the prime was very good, but then again so was it with the guys just behind me. Overtaking here is very, very tough as it has showed in previous years, but we do have DRS.
“I would hope we can overtake but I would doubt it – but I would do everything I could to move forwards.
“Definitely the guy in front, the top two or three, generally have an easier job because they have a lot clearer air. But we will give it our all and we hope with improved pit stops as well we hope we can make steps forward.”
Revised Spanish Grand Prix grid:
1. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
3. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
5. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes
9. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
10. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
11. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16. Felipe Massa Ferrari
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
18. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
20. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth
24. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
Despite the harsh decision to penalise Lewis Hamilton to the back of the grid, McLaren have switched their focus to the race on Sunday. Autosport.com has the story.
McLaren says its focus now is on scoring as many points as possible in the Spanish Grand Prix, after accepting the stewards’ decision to demote Lewis Hamilton to the back of the grid.
Hamilton was stripped of his pole position after the FIA ruled that he had breached the rules in not returning to the pits after completing his qualifying lap.
The stewards who discussed the matter did not accept that a team error, which meant not enough fuel went in to Hamilton’s car prior to his final run in Q3, was grounds for force majeure.
When asked by AUTOSPORT for a reaction to the stewards’ decision, a McLaren spokesman said: “We accept that the stewards did not agree with our interpretation of force majeure. Our aim is now to maximise the points we can score tomorrow.”