Lewis Hamilton is yet to respond officially on the FIA’s decision not to give Sebastian Vettel any further penalty for the collision between them in Azerbaijan.
An Instagram user with the name Tillykeeper_zackfan posted the following, which was ‘liked’ by the three-times world champion:
“Lost all respect for the FIA, Scuderia Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel after that ruling. The message this sends is that you can do whatever you want on track, smash into each other but if you suck up and just apologise and you get away with it! If that was Lewis, he’d get banned, fined and points deducted. FIA are a bias set of fools towards Ferrari, always have been and always will!”
Vettel ran into the back of Hamilton’s car during a Safety Car period in Baku. He then pulled alongside Hamilton and swiped into the race-leading Mercedes.
The Ferrari driver was given a ten-second stop-go penalty during the race last week. Following a meeting with FIA president Jean Todt yesterday he agreed to publicly apologise for the incident and was given no further sanction for the incident.
Vetel said he “had no intention at anytime to put Lewis in danger, but I understand that I caused a dangerous situation”.
Thanks to Patrick (@aqualyn) for the tip.
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2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Vettel accepts Hamilton did not brake-test him
- “Lost all respect for the FIA” – Hamilton endorses fan’s view on Vettel ruling
- Vettel issues formal apology for Baku clash with Hamilton
- Vettel avoids further sanction over clash with Hamilton
- ‘No change’ at Force India: Drivers still free to race despite costly Baku clash
Gabriel (@rethla)
4th July 2017, 7:57
Ofc Hamilton is not happy about it and Vettel aint happy about it either. Any news?
Eric
4th July 2017, 13:32
Hamster is an hypocrite, worships Senna, who took out Prost at Japanese GP at full speed, at a time when cars were not anywhere as safe as they are today. Lewis planned it, he is a dirty driver and will never be seen as one of the greats, regardless of the number of WDC he wins
nickfrog (@nickfrog)
4th July 2017, 13:47
@Eric How can LH be a “dirty” driver when he has 2 points and most other drivers have more – I think the evidence is that he is a clean driver – I don’t understand your rationale on this ? Do you have one or is it pure hatred ?
Sorentoxxx
4th July 2017, 15:31
2011 Lewis crash into everybody including his team mate Massa was ready to punch him a one stage he is mister perfect as if ????????
n0b0dy100
4th July 2017, 17:02
Slowing Ricciardo going into the pits in Spain was dirty.
Rick (@)
4th July 2017, 20:22
@nickfrog Last race 2016? Holding everyone up so Nico could be overtaken?
Also his attitude had changed over the last few years from humble to arrogant.
He had already lost my respect.
And to add one last thing: Vettel did something out of pure emotion, people have emotions, just look at Montoya, Villeneuve and such. FIA wants drivers to become robots or puppets. Hamilton does a lot of dirty tricks that are not directly in breach of certain rules, but he does stretches it and the way he does it is pure evil at heart.
racerdude7730 (@racerdude7730)
4th July 2017, 20:39
++++1 he is a hypocrite of massive levels. Also this British meadia shows their real colors with this. Look outside of that and you will see what the world really thinks. No one thinks what VET did was right but they see it for what it is. As so many people say it’s sad the one sidedness with all this. As someone said he looks upto drivers who on the regular did dumb stuff and dangerous moves. He needs to lose his Holy attitude
The Skeptic
4th July 2017, 22:54
Oh come on. Slowing the Abu Dhabi 2016 race down made it interesting, and provided the opportunity for some kind of tension in the title fight. He didn’t rage at Rosberg, or bang wheels in rage.
Lewis is a genuinely interesting racing driver. He goes for it. He hates settling for second. He will drive his heart in a damaged car. He will find the limits of grip in wet conditions. He will overtake in places that most people won’t. He knows how to hold the inside line when under pressure, pushing wide on the exit of the corner, rather than the entry.
His driving is one of the reasons I love F1. He’s not the only one, and his performance can fluctuate…. but I love it when he is racing hard. Daniel Ricciardo at his best is similar (with his amazing late braking moves), as is Max Verstappen (unforgettable in the wet in Brazil 2016). Sebastian Vettel shows brilliance too (his overtaking in China 2017 was awesome). Fernando Alonso is brilliant, although suppressed in the Mclaren at the moment.
nickfrog (@nickfrog)
8th July 2017, 14:22
@addvariety Again, Ham has 2 points on his licence – not an opinion, just a fact that can be easily verified. He is therefore cleaner than most drivers, including the last race in 2016 which would have attracted points, had he been “dirty” (ie braking a rule).
It really is very easy to objectively grasp all this.
Rick (@)
9th July 2017, 21:09
@nickfrog Right, so if you drive 100mph through a 40 zone and don’t get caught, this makes it an “easily verified fact” that you never drive too fast?
Come on, just look at Abu Dhabi last year, it so extremely obvious. It may be within the rule limits, but it was dirty.
smudgersmith1 (@smudgersmith1)
4th July 2017, 20:32
plus one
Alan tatton
4th July 2017, 13:56
I’m no Lewis fan. But “planned it” !!!!!!!!! What have you been smoking.
Ludwig
4th July 2017, 14:16
Eric, I agree with you 100%. I’ll tell you more, now FIA should prosecute Ham for his desrespect. My favorite driver was Jenson Button, not only for his skills as a driver, but because he was a gentleman, an example of sportmanship. Hamilton is just the opposite: I’ve no respect for him
Kgn11
4th July 2017, 17:08
Jenson a gentleman… well talk about a comedic moment
EagleMk1
7th July 2017, 19:19
Some people can’t stomach that Jenson Button scored more points than 44 in their three years together at McL. Yes, Jenson may not be very good but proved beyond any possible doubt that he is better than 44. End of.
Tiomkin
4th July 2017, 17:31
Why should someone respect someone who is biased? I’d love to see the court case. FYI they would lose. It is not a requirement to ‘respect’ the FIA. They pay Ferrari more than any other team because they are biased. It is in the account books.
Gosford Lawrence
4th July 2017, 18:14
So you are fine if vettel hits lewis in a race and escape penalty but lewis disagrees with a ruling from the FIA and u want them to prosecute Lewis for not agreeing …. Wow…. Just wow…
Mez
4th July 2017, 21:38
First of all Vettel was penilised for his misdeed. Secondly the contact between Hamilton and Vettel was instivated by Hamilton driving unnecessarily too slow which FIA rules and regulation dtates that if driver drives unnecessarily too slow he should be penalised. They did not penilise Hamilton for his involvement.
Fia may have penilised Vettel too liniently, but they did penilise him. Where as Hamilton was not penilised for breaking rules and regulations. So in this case FIA waz favouring Hamilton over Vettel.
racerdude7730 (@racerdude7730)
4th July 2017, 20:42
VET got called in for disrespecting the FIA so I think HAM should be called up for a meeting now
chris (@9chris9)
4th July 2017, 20:58
@racerdude7730
yes i agree with you, they should ban him too for bringing the sport into disrepute.
No room in this sport for people like Ham
EagleMk1
7th July 2017, 19:20
No room in this world is more like it
Neil
4th July 2017, 21:26
@Eric…it doesn’t mean that one idolizes Senna actually means u idolize/worship even the bad side…u idolize because of his greatness. Hamilton and Senna are different people, just give him a break. What do u expect the FIA would do??? That’s Jean Todt for crying out loud…staunch Ferrari personnel from before…geez! Road safety is an issue that the FIA acknowledges…if these people who have the highest driving expertise are the ones who break the rules, then it all goes to show that they have no regard for authority or even simply the rules. I like both drivers, but Vettel has a history last season when he was cursing Verstappen over the radio and even raised his voice at Charlie for whatever reason. Just shows how hot tempered he is…just saying.
Chodusingh
5th July 2017, 4:46
You do realise that Hamilton accused his own teammate for cheating?
Racefan
6th October 2017, 9:09
we are talking about two different issues in this post, one hami slowing down everyone when under safety car, well have any of you noticed when hamiltons is on lead the safety car drivers are driving by really slow, which tends to cause problems with tyre temp, so yes inorder to keep his lead he may have to slow down others too – completely justified plus he didn’t break any rules. Second vettel is a reckless driver, for which we have 2 incidents singapore and malaysia 2017 with numerous refractions after which vettel walks scott free, which also proves stewards are biased.
Paul
5th July 2017, 8:03
How can you call Lewis a dirty driver was he the one who deliberately drove into someone else me don’t think so get your eyes tested or don’t bother commenting on it. was proved Lewis did nowt wrong
Racefan
6th October 2017, 8:48
Getting involved in a crash durig warm down lap, and you would still say vettle is inocent
Racefan
6th October 2017, 8:51
It can only be vettel and his kinds who would get involved in a crash during warm down lap, and you would still say vettle is inocent. Vettel should be penalised heavily atleast a suspension for reckless driving
Carlos
8th July 2017, 6:11
more, Vettel gets a 2 day vacation to Paris to get a punishment of: “12 months of driving and security lessons for kids”.
Joao (@johnmilk)
4th July 2017, 7:58
This is a bit irrelevant, for all we know Lewis most likely doesn’t manage his social media pages. Some employee liked a comment on the internet, not a big deal.
Of course the article will be updated and by the time some of you read my comment, probably it won’t make sense anymore
Girts (@girts)
4th July 2017, 8:35
Well, I believe that a triple world champion with millions of followers should be more careful when being active on the social media (or at least employ someone with common sense, who properly takes care of that). On the other hand, we are living in Donald Trump era so perhaps nothing really matters anymore.
It is good if F1 drivers are not corporate robots and I have always admired Hamilton for being unique and different. However, I also believe that there is a middle ground between Valtteri Bottas and tillykeeper_zackfan that F1 drivers should aim for.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
4th July 2017, 8:37
This. Manager of LH social media liked that post.
Ricky Johnson (@bamboo)
4th July 2017, 8:43
+1
Move along. Honestly nothing to see here. #blessed
gchoul
4th July 2017, 12:46
Really? So the official Hamilton account can call FIA a “biased set of fools”??
Tomcat173 (@tomcat173)
4th July 2017, 13:07
Bringing the sport into disrepute perhaps?
racerdude7730 (@racerdude7730)
4th July 2017, 20:44
If we follow the British medias mold I think HAM should have a race ban for this.
Kyle Lyles
4th July 2017, 22:37
@racerdude7730, you’re absolutely correct!
ForzaRogo (@forzarogo)
4th July 2017, 23:19
Even if it was a manager, that manager was still hired to represent him. I think I’ve heard before that he manages his own social media.
Iosif (@afonic)
4th July 2017, 11:02
I am not so sure that he doesn’t manage his Instagram. I follow and the content is often very personal, especially in “Stories”. I think he uses it himself, plus help from someone from his crew.
But in my opinion a “like” in Instagram is not an endorsement, I disagree from reading social media like that. When there’s something to say he will make a statement, so actually there are no news here.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
4th July 2017, 22:53
@johnmilk Hamilton’s Instagram page is a verified account and he has previously instructed journalists to refer to it to find out what he thinks.
Joao (@johnmilk)
5th July 2017, 7:44
@keithcollantine but this one is not a post is just a like on a comment…I think we can’t take from it what Hamilton is thinking about the situation. Just an administrator liking something IMO
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
5th July 2017, 16:59
@johnmilk Even if that is the case – and you don’t know if it is – it’s no different from the team issuing press releases on his behalf containing quotes from him.
Furthermore as Hamilton has told people to refer to his social media accounts in the past, if he is them giving control of those accounts to people who are representing him in ways he doesn’t approve of, then it’s up to him to say so, rather than just assume everyone is going to automatically know which social media posts he is sincere about and which ones he isn’t.
Incidentally, I think it’s positive that he uses social media in this way. Interacting with his fans directly is exactly what it should be used for. Look how happy that user is that Hamilton showed that he liked their post. It clearly made their day.
Walter (@wvdhouten)
4th July 2017, 8:07
I am pretty sure lives were in serious danger during the intentional bumping of wheels. I am sure Vettel is smart enough not to put anyone at risk of injury on purpose. He steered in for the bump at approximately 60 or 70 kmph or so, with cars having a very low center of gravity and capable of sustaining these taps in most cases.
The penalty + reprimand + apology was maybe slightly low, but it was still just. The comment of ‘losing all respect, and Lewis would have received much worse’ etc. Is a bunch of hot, empty air. I like and dislike both drivers just about the same, but I didn’t see too much wrong there other than a misinterpretation and a hot headed response. “Get yourself in check, or repercussions will follow.” Should suffice, and I believe that is exactly the current state. Anything more or less would have been favouritism.
rpaco (@rpaco)
4th July 2017, 8:47
What ??….. “I am pretty sure lives were in serious danger during the intentional bumping of wheels.”
So you think that is ok then to put lives in serious danger?
No it is an immediate ban offence and had it been anyone other than a Ferrari driver they would have been black flagged, had a race ban and the year’s points deducted.
It is the old FIA”Don’t upset Ferrari, they might leave” brigade.
That Ferrari do not compete on equal terms is bad enough but this is a slap in the face for the sport. How can any proper fair decisions be made in future when they have set this precedent?
JohnH (@johnrkh)
4th July 2017, 9:52
Typo I’d say ‘not’ missing.
I think the penalty is too small. Id give Vettel two penalties first and most obvious the temper tantrum wheel banging stupidity, second for running up the back of Hamilton in the first place. Vettel was not in a position to gain a single millimeter where he had placed himself. Unless he planned to launch himself and his car over the top of Hamilton. that would have been something to see.
Chodusingh
5th July 2017, 4:51
Nobody expects another driver to not accelerate out of the exit of a corner. Hamilton should’ve opened the gap to safety car a bit earlier in the lap than when he tried to do. The first tap, was Vettel being caught out by the surprise of Hamilton not accelerating. The second one, it’s up in the air. I think that Vettel didn’t want to bump into him, he just wasn’t paying attention. Very stupid, i know, but look at that video again. He’s quite busy waving at Hamilton than paying attention on track. Intentional? I think not.
Drg
5th July 2017, 16:49
Don’t go racing my friend…
You would be seriously shocked…
Plus spend a great deal of time with the clerk of the course.
antifia (@antifia)
4th July 2017, 11:45
@rpaco Not acquainted with the concept of sarcasm mate?
Further, in a race where LH reduces from 75km/h in the apex to 50km/h at the end of that blind corner with the whole field behind him and the safety car (he was trying to get Seb’s car damaged, probably by Peres … typical LH) and he doesn’t get a penalty. A race in which Bottas t-bones Kimi and doens’t get a penalty and you come and say Ferrari is being favored…. people see what they want to see.
Of course, Seb’s actions were stupid and deserved a penalty, but they were not dangerous … actually describing the touch between the two as if Seb had “smashed” into LH is just one of those instances of using loaded words …there are fun experiments on that (I am sure that some LH fans after reading the “smash” word in the post started remembering seeing shattered glass, skid marks and blood all over the place).
In the end, LH will start on personal attacks on anybody that goes on a title run vs him… Alonso, Seb, Nico, they all become supervillains in those settings…he starts with “Oh, i have great respect for so and so” and then proceeds to accuse them of all evils when they start to beat him – the underlying message being that nobody beats me, the wonderful LH on a straight fight, so they must be cheating…for the love of God, he won’t even shy of hinting at team sabotage in some occasions.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
4th July 2017, 12:50
@antifia Stop saying that Hamilton was at fault. It’s pretty much just lying at this point.
As to the penalty that Vettel has received – he should have been disqualified. Not because it was dangerous, but because it spoke to an underlying attitude that this kind of behaviour is ok.
Sure, the collision occurred at low speed. But if Vettel can have that kind of disgusting lapse of judgement at that speed, what is stopping him from having a similar lapse in judgement going max chat down the straight?
The only valid penalty for deliberately hitting another competitor is disqualification, either from this race or the next.
Both the stewards and the FIA have utterly failed this debacle.
Markp
4th July 2017, 13:09
Maldonado got a 5 place grid penalty doing this at higher speed and damaging cars. Did it again within 12 months and got a 10 place penalty. The stop go was far harsher. Senna smashed a car off at 180mph and got away with it. It was a very stupid thing for Vettel to do but circumstance meant he finished ahead of Lewiis which people cannot take. Same with Bottas, initially seemed he got what he deserved was last and a lap down but later people were annoyed as he finished ahead of Raikkonen and on the podium. You cannot give a penalty only to then want further action as circumstances after the event meant through luck the guilty party came out quite well at the end of the race.
antifia (@antifia)
4th July 2017, 13:48
@fluxsource Hate to break the news to you, but disagreeing with you is not the definition of the word lying.
I watched the race and, at least here, the broadcaster showed the incident ad-nauseam…one of the takes was from LH’s onboard camera, with all those bells and wistles (you know, gear, speed, g-force, you name it). In that take you could see LH enter the corner, do the apex at +/- 75 km/h and then reduce to around 50 km/h at the exit of the corner. Who on earth reduces the speed from the apex to the exit (you tend to accelerate in that bit)? In a blind corner…. What purpose could it have?
Now change the perspective to Seb …. the guy (like all others in F1) can control those cars at speeds exceeding 300km/h, very often at close combat with a car in front. But are you willing to believe that he can’t be trusted to avoid a collision with the car in front, in normal conditions, driving at 75 km/h behind the safety car?…. it takes some super mind bending to go that way, right? So why do you think Seb hit the back of LH’s car, if it was not for lack of skill? There was nothing to gain for doing it deliberately (and you risk breaking your front wing).
Of course, Seb’s subsequent action was absurdly dim witted but why people refuse to see how LH’s contribution to that mess is beyond me.
Baron
4th July 2017, 15:25
It’s rare but there’s still people on this site who can react intelligently.
+1 Markp.
Martin
4th July 2017, 16:50
Um safety car restart? You do remember they were not going through that corner under “track is green” conditions right? I swear it is ridiculous the amount of people twisting this to try and make Hamilton out as the bad guy.
Let me switch this round, why on earth would he accelerate?
Paulrus
4th July 2017, 19:17
@antifia You obviously don’t understand racing, when the safety car lights go out the leading car is responsible for setting the pace. Not one pundit / race steward or official put the blame at LH’s door – that says something. Be also did exactly the same at the previous and subsequent safety car restarts. The incident also happened at T15, the safety car line was at least a half mile further down the road and LH had to give it space.
OK, now addressing your comment regarding SB following safety cars, check out Hungary 2011 (fell more than 10 car lengths behind), Abu Dhabi 2011 (hit the DRS board on the back straight after nearly running up the back of Danny Ric iirc after being caught out) and also the infamous Fuji 2007 when he took Webber out… Oh, and just for good measure, Jenson didn’t bang wheels with SV after nearly colliding after SV braked heavily while leading the pack in Singapore in 2012 either…
Paulrus
4th July 2017, 19:20
^^^^ Apologies for typos, posted from my mobile…
antifia (@antifia)
4th July 2017, 22:57
Paulrus, now that you say that I obviously don’t understand racing, I finally see the errors of my way …. oh lord master of all that runs on 4 wheels… Now serious mate, setting the pace and driving erratically are two different things. You don’t test break the field behind after a blind corner, period.
Further, if I was the kind of guy that agrees with every position the stewards take, my nick wouldn’t be Anfitia, would it? But nice to meet someone with so much trust on their decisions – I’ll post you up in the future when something comes along to test your faith … once every 4 blue moons, Saturn is aligned with Neptune and the FIA slaps a penalty on LH. When that happens, we talk again :)
Ah, and I remember Fuji 2007 … who was the guy that test broke the field on that occasion again?….oh, yeah, it could be no other: LH! At that occasion, he at least got a reprimand…
matt90 (@matt90)
5th July 2017, 1:20
Just as well he didn’t then. You can’t saying that you aren’t lying, then then make a statement that’s completely the opposite of the steward’s ruling into Hamilton’s driving at that point- i.e. he drove at a steady speed.
niko
5th July 2017, 4:41
The “what if he goes down the straight at full speed and hits him” is a bit like saying: I saw you kill a fly the other day, you should be put in jail for life, because what if you kill a person tomorrow. And the “shouldn’t be setting an example”, even though I don’t condone his behavior, I don’t teach my kids to do and follow what they see on TV, I try and set an example for them myself.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
6th July 2017, 14:19
Markp The race result has no bearing for me – I thought it should be a DQ straight away. Nothing that has happened since has changed my view of that.
tony
5th July 2017, 8:05
you are an idot im sure are blind or u hate hamilton because of his skin colour
sethje (@seth-space)
4th July 2017, 9:54
So what you really mean is he did not acted in “the heat of the moment” but did it all very deliberately.
Janet54321
4th July 2017, 11:25
It was raw road rage, simple as that.
Vettel cannot control his temper, (or the reaction of fans when he gets on the podium; we’ll see/hear).
If he wins the championship this year, it’s obvious that this incident will be brought up forever, “He only won it because he was let off…” and it will hang over his head for the rest of his life/legacy. That’s sounds melodramatic, but it’s true.
Trump: Sad.
Walter (@wvdhouten)
4th July 2017, 13:12
I am not saying it wasn’t in the heat of the moment. I am saying that “How can I show my discontent, more than just waving my arms at him?” is more likely to result into the bumping of wheels. (He steered in, and also steered back. He didn’t continue pushing Hamilton into the wall… He went for a solid bump. Probably equivalent of giving another player in football a push, after accusing him of pulling your shirt.)
Continuing with the analogy of the football player giving a push after an alleged shirt-pulling, if he was to punch him in the face or the legs (Slashing his tires deliberately with his nose or something), then I would of course say the offense was more serious, and probably required a harder punishment. In this case? I don’t think so.
It was a heated response, but likely not terminal to either car. An in-race penalty, a reprimand and an apology still seems fine. The shoulder push in football is also not a red card offense.
Walter (@wvdhouten)
4th July 2017, 13:13
PS. not saying that Hamilton did it on purpose either. It could very easily be a misunderstanding, misreading, whatever.
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
4th July 2017, 8:10
Oh noo…. why wouldn’t Hamilton accept such a sincere apology from Vettel :(
*Grabs popcorn*
Hollidog
4th July 2017, 8:12
This is a bit of a stretch, Keith. I’d expect this sort of reporting from the Daily Mail.
Luca Nuvolari (@nuvolari71)
4th July 2017, 9:53
Agree
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
4th July 2017, 14:13
Yup, very poor.
Paul
4th July 2017, 14:45
Fourthed.
Eljueta
4th July 2017, 10:22
Seconded. Clickbait. You can do better Keith.
Old_mate_Mick
4th July 2017, 10:45
The last week or two of constant terrible clickbait articles, full of errors, says he really can’t do better. I’ve watched this website decline into Daily Mail status over the last 5 or 6 years. It was ok back then, but these days there’s at least 30 better websites for F1 info than this one.
Iosif (@afonic)
4th July 2017, 10:58
And yet you come to comment at the 31st. Weird now, isn’t it?
Paul
4th July 2017, 14:47
Everyone knows the best comment sections are the ones on the crappier posts :P
I’m not trying to diss anyone in this post, just pointing out the obvious.
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
4th July 2017, 10:25
+1.
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
4th July 2017, 11:07
+1. Grasping at straws with this one
SuperIU
4th July 2017, 15:05
Totally agree. This website is one of the best of formula 1, but the favoritism to Hamilton is evident. Trying to make a big new because of a “social media like” is a disgrace.
Alex De (@alexde)
4th July 2017, 16:52
+1
SuperSenna
4th July 2017, 20:55
+1
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
4th July 2017, 22:58
@nuvolari71 @tonyyeb @ho3n3r @marcusbreese I get that you don’t like this but you haven’t said why there’s nothing I can learn from this at the moment. Anyone care to address that?
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
5th July 2017, 5:51
@keithcollantine For one I think it is a non story. He hasn’t actually ‘said’ anything, and by ‘liking’ that comment you don’t know for certain that he endorses the whole comment, part of it or just hit ‘like’ by accident. And as others have commented, while Hamilton does personally post stuff, his management team also have access (you can tell the corporate stuff from his) so you can’t be certain that is a personal endorsement. Far too vague to constitute a story in my opinion. Let’s hear it from the horses mouth.
Luca Nuvolari (@nuvolari71)
5th July 2017, 6:15
alright Keith, this is my thoughts: I was talking about consequences of actions. Take ice hockey ( i am an ice hockey player as well as a race driver); “hooking” gets 2 minutes on the bench for the offender. No big deal, the offended falls while skating. Instead a full body check on the board dislocates a shoulder of the offended, 4 weeks off the ice and no penalty for the offender. similar action, very different consequences, different penalties.
What I am saying is that Hamilton is raising his voice for an action which is not beautiful to watch but has zero consequences, instead the same guy has no problem of letting his steering wheel open up a bit more than necessary to drive his opponent off the track, maybe on the grass, maybe on the gavel, maybe in the wall at 200km/h. The rule supports him because “he’s entitled to maintain his racing line if he is still in the front” but the consequences are potentially disastrous… but no penalties. See the difference between actions and consequences? LH knows this very well, much better than me but he speculates because that’s the way he is. He is the kind of guy who beats up a wounded man, who is already on the ambulance bed.
Now, your reposting an instagram post, which is already a speculation, is doing nothing but heating up a moment which is in my opinion not a big deal at all. Furthermore, the FIA knows better than all of us combined in terms of racing and ruling and penalties. We are surely entitled to have an opinion but to say “i lose respect” is outrageous, extremely offensive, uneducated, dumb, childish and I would punish it, because, as LH pretends to be the good guy who gives good examples to the kids (rofl), he is telling the young generations that they can lose respect to any authority…
So, what you did in my opinion, was to help Lewis to through his toys out of his prams and I forgive you only because you are british
All the best
Luca Nuvolari (@nuvolari71)
5th July 2017, 7:27
@keithcollantine
*Throw… not through.. and the last sentence is a joke of course. If this was an italian publication, I am pretty sure the approach would have been different, as it should be
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
5th July 2017, 10:01
@keithcollantine
“I get that you don’t like this but you haven’t said why there’s nothing I can learn from this at the moment. Anyone care to address that?”
My main bone of contention is that the headline expresses a significantly stronger sentiment than is actually implied by “liking” a picture on Instagram, and is a case of trying to second guess how someone else is feeling on a subject – and presented in a sensationalist manner. All Lewis has done is shown a positive acknowledgement of someone else’s opinion of the situation, he has not endorsed it and the fact that he liked it does not mean that he feels that way himself.
I get that social media is still fairly new, and we are all trying to understand how it fits into modern life. But in the same way we all know that a journalist suggesting a statement and a subject agreeing to it does not carry the same weight as the subject making that statement themselves, I do not believe that Lewis (or anyone else) liking something on Instagram is worthy of creating a whole article on, even on a topic of this magnitude. If Lewis had come out and made that statement himself, then we’d have a story worth talking about.
Perhaps if an Italian journalist were to perform a partisan analysis of the statement, they’d come out with the following:
“Hamilton accuses FIA of Ferrari bias and claims they failed to punish Vettel (ignoring 10 second stop-go penalty and 3 penalty points)”.
Anatoli68 (@anatoli68)
4th July 2017, 8:13
But he didn’t get away with it? He lost the race and valuable points because of his moment of madness and got punished during the race. Of course you can argue that the punishment wasn’t severe enough but you still can’t pretend he wasn’t penalized at all.
Sven (@crammond)
4th July 2017, 8:33
@anatoli68 Nah, the harshest reasonable penalty plus forcing a public apology isn’t hard enough. Let’s all be outraged as loudly as possible all over the internet.
Is this just the times we live in, or a result of decades of over-policing by race-stewards that added an inflation to penalties?
Kimiwillbeback
4th July 2017, 8:56
You’re probably right. It’s the time we’re living in where everybody and their grandmother go out of their way to be politically correct.
Strange things happen in that kind of enviroment. Suddenly somebody thinks F1 should be politically correct too and become a standard bearer for road safety. Granted F1 does fulfill that part on the technical side but there is no way racing in excess of 300 mph is ever going to be politically correct.
Same with the general public, everybody are politically correct. But we have never in the history of mankind produced and sold so many cars with 500 to 1000 horses. I highly doubt these are bought in order to comply with the speed limits.
We are turning into a bunch of hyphocrates ready to pounce on everything we think others might pounce upon. At the same time we all break the rules when we think nobody’s watching. It doesn’t matter what you do, what matters is who sees you do it. A total lack of morals and backbone is the result.
When enough people get fed up with this phony sosiety it’s going to change. We can allready see the signs, people are fed up with politicans and other proponents of the status quo.
David Oates
4th July 2017, 10:26
You seem very confused about political correctness. Bless.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
4th July 2017, 10:23
@crammond The harshest reasonable penalty?! In your opinion. Which most don’t agree to. What makes you right and us wrong that you can criticize this all over the internet?
Ludwig
4th July 2017, 14:21
and what did you say after Verstappen tryied to kill Kimi in Spa in 2016, admitting it was on purpose? Swerving on the straight speeding 330 is not dangerous enough?
Baron
4th July 2017, 15:31
That was indeed very dangerous and should have been penalized. He also quite clearly forced Raikkonen off while missing the corner himself. Both situations went unpunished but this deserves a ban?! People have lost it.
Sven (@crammond)
4th July 2017, 16:32
@Ludwig If you are interested in my old comments, you can google them. A quick search reveals this comment on the “should the FIA ban the Verstappen-block”-poll.
Ludwig
4th July 2017, 16:45
Thank you, Sven. Going to check it
John H (@john-h)
4th July 2017, 8:42
Indeed. I was about to write the exact same thing. He should have been black flagged, but he did get penalised so this Instagram user is incorrect.
Hamilton should be careful to maintain the high ground instead of stopping to this level by criticising the FiA, even by proxy. I hope he shakes Vettel by the hand next race.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
4th July 2017, 8:44
People are upset that the punishment didn’t fit the crime.
Asanator (@asanator)
4th July 2017, 9:50
And yet it did!
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
4th July 2017, 10:27
ECW in your opinion.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
4th July 2017, 13:38
@ho3n3r in the vast majority of people’s opinions including most Sebastian Vettels’ fans. It was an instant Black Flag with additional penalties on top in my opinion. Vettel’s been acting like this since his Webber days.
It’s funny how people used to say that Vettel was a great guy who connected with the team while Lewis is a hypocrite etc.
According to Paddy Lowe, Lewis is probably the fairest driver who doesn’t mind racing his teammates on equal terms…
antifia (@antifia)
4th July 2017, 14:16
This is completely bonkers… Lewis behaves like a child when his team mate dares to compete with him. He likes to have subservient fellows like Kovi and Bottas on the other car… Last year he went so far as starting hinting that he was being sabotaged by the team… Incidentally, funny to see LH commenting about 1st and 2nd drivers at Ferrari following Monaco – you know, I would be more circumspect in a track where my team mate was told to let me by the year before or when my current team mate was told to let me by, not once but twice, in Bahrain this year….
Regarding the penalty, a 10 secs stop and go for a light bump of rubber, with no consequence to either car, seems fit for the crime to me. The frustration of LH’s fans come from the fact that, due to his own car problems, the penalty didn’t hurt Seb as they wished it had..but this is no reason to ban the guy for a race.
Besides, LHs fans should want to have a level playing field vs Vettel this year…you know, it would be good for LH’s image to finally win a championship where the other guy is good and has a competitive car (if he manages to do it, of course).
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
4th July 2017, 16:34