2020 Russian GP - Sochi

[pantealex]

I’ve no issue with the timed penalty, it’s the two penalty points that were completely over the top.

Lewis did NOT get any penalty points !

[The Black Knight]

Lewis did NOT get any penalty points !

No but he was supposed to. That the penalty points were imposed in the first place raises serious questions about Stewards bias. It was ridiculous to even impose them to begin with.

[N. Jones]

I don’t think anyone is arguing he broke some rule ( as arbitrary and useless it is for a reconnaissance lap on the way to the grid ) but rather how the stewards decided to deal with this mildest of infractions. Verstappen, Vettel, LeClerc, Ricciardo, and others all have come out in defense of Hamilton and the absurdity of the ruling.
They chose to be beyond harsh and unprecedented in their ruling on this matter but did nothing for leclerc ending strolls race, for Sainz truly doing something dangerous like flooring it through the bollard section, slamming into the wall and causing a major incident, or Grosjean trashing the bollards and not only failing to go through them but also causing a safety issue by blasting them. All those issues happened in race but got nothing but Jamilton got slammed with. 10s penalty. One they didn’t even see fit to review properly by alleging they didn’t access the publicly available radio communication (or rather ignored it) causing them to reverse course after the damage is done. Anyway you look at it this was a travesty and a naked attempt to try and impede Hamilton by any means they could

OK, you and Nitrodaze have a good point. If others got off then Hammy should have too. I will always admit it is a strange penalty because I do not see how it affects other drivers.
Oh well. He is going to win the title anyway.

[Zico]

OK, you and Nitrodaze have a good point. If others got off then Hammy should have too. I will always admit it is a strange penalty because I do not see how it affects other drivers.
Oh well. He is going to win the title anyway.

.... not necessarily.

If we can all get together, catch him breaking some more rules and report him or maybe fit him up on something really, really serious he could get a 2 year ban. In which case, if Merc are no longer competative in 2022.. that could stop him beating Mikes record.
I wont feel bad, he's no better than Grosjean, just has the best car and doesn't deserve it anyway.

Anyone else onboard?

[Firstgear]

Another snip from another article in the same place I quoted before. It seems to answer why Lewis did what he did, as well as confirming that the team knew it might be a problem.

[gm99]

Another snip from another article in the same place I quoted before. It seems to answer why Lewis did what he did, as well as confirming that the team knew it might be a problem.

Timo Glock also stated on German TV that Lewis was probably heading for a "virgin" part of the track, whereas the official practice start area might have too much rubber laid down from previous attempts to properly simulate a race start.
It does lead me to question why Mercedes only told one of their drivers to go for that particular area, though...

[Nitrodaze]

i just heard Toto Wolff was offered the F1 CEO job but Ferrari vetoed his appointment which led to Domenicalli's appointment. F1 has missed a great opportunity there l think. Can you imagine how efficiently and fair F1 may have become with Wolff in charge? I think it is a huge missed opportunity. But he may fill that position in the future.

I applaud Domenicalli's appointment but the optics looks too Ferrari dominated appointments. We have the FIA president [Todt], the F1 Motor Sports and technical director [Brawn] and the new F1 CEO [Domenicalli] all previous Ferrari staff. I fail to see how Liberty think this was a wise choice of selection. They have open the door to more Ferrari favoritism criticism in the future surely.

[The Black Knight]

i just heard Toto Wolff was offered the F1 CEO job but Ferrari vetoed his appointment which led to Domenicalli's appointment. F1 has missed a great opportunity there l think. Can you imagine how efficiently and fair F1 may have become with Wolff in charge? I think it is a huge missed opportunity. But he may fill that position in the future.

I applaud Domenicalli's appointment but the optics looks too Ferrari dominated appointments. We have the FIA president, the F1 sporting director and the new F1 CEO all previous Ferrari staff. I fail to see how Liberty think this was a wise choice of selection. They have open the door to more Ferrari favoritism criticism in the future surely.

Yeah, Toto was first choice but I can understand Ferrari not wanting him. If he had a number of years away from the sport it might be different but to go from a direct competitor to F1 CEO... even Toto might find impartiality tough there.

[Nitrodaze]

Yeah, Toto was first choice but I can understand Ferrari not wanting him. If he had a number of years away from the sport it might be different but to go from a direct competitor to F1 CEO... even Toto might find impartiality tough there.

I get that. I would probably have a thing or two to say about that also. :-)

[N4D13]

Keep in mind that Wolff also owns a chunk of Mercedes and Williams, so he's definitely unfit for the role of F1 chairman in my book. (I'm unsure about where Domenicali's invested, though.)