Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h 38m23.876s; 2nd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h 38m35.405s; 3rd Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h38m40.762s

Q: Lewis, from the desperation of the first races of this season, tell us what it means to be a winner again.
Lewis Hamilton: It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and with such a struggle with me and my team. But as I said on the in lap I am just so proud of the guys, as I go into the factory and I see how hard everyone is pushing. Everyone wants to win just as much as I do and they never gave up. They have never given up which is something very rare to see in such a large group of people. I am very, very proud of them. We didn’t expect to win this weekend. Undoubtedly we have caught up quite a bit but we never felt we had the pace to win. But the car felt fantastic and it is incredibly special to get back up here, not only on the podium, but to get a win. It is amazing.

Q: Kimi, it’s been a long time since we had a McLaren versus Ferrari at the front. Tell us about your race.
Kimi Raikkonen: We got a very good start. That definitely helped. We knew before the race we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium. I was only fourth after the first few corners behind Lewis and then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark and we went at the same time for the first pit stop. Then I don’t know if he had some issues or not and I got past him at the pit stop. After that really I was just driving my own race, trying to catch Lewis. I thought I had the speed for that at one point but then suddenly he started to go the same speed and then a little bit faster. The gap more or less stayed the same the whole time. Then I had some issues on the last pit stop and that didn’t help either but we had a good race. We knew that it would be difficult to challenge for the win right now. We were probably closer than we expected, so even with not such an easy weekend for the team, but we have got some good results, so hopefully that is something we can keep going like this and it is something positive at least this weekend for the team.

Q: Mark, how big a surprise is this result for you today?
Mark Webber: A little bit of a surprise. I think we expected to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday but to be honest we knew these guys would be around us. It was a pretty difficult venue for us and we knew that we didn’t have the advantage maybe that we had in the last few events. All in all for me I am still pretty happy to get the result we did. I think we had a better chance to fight Kimi if maybe we did a slightly different pit stop and maybe chose a different tyre but that was my call. I was worried about how long the length of the stint was and it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on but overall we still have a lot of positives. We are still up here. We haven’t been blown away by any means. We are in the hunt and we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive, so our guys and Renault have a lot to be proud of. We are still very much a force, so it is still a positive day for us.

Q: Lewis, it is the first win for a KERS car. You obviously had a terrific start but really the key to your day was the way your car handled its tyres once you hit the front.
LH: Yeah, I was able to manage them quite well but something I want to say is that yesterday was, I think, and maybe I can speak for all of us drivers, quite a sad day to see Felipe not with us here today. Hopefully I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we miss him and wish him well and wish him a speedy recovery. But back to the car, it was just fantastic. The team asked me to look after the tyres in which through all the great experiences I have had - good or bad - I was able to apply that today, so really a big thank you to all the guys and all the fans that have always given me support and never gave me up and to all my family.

Q: Kimi, tell us about the moves you made at the start which came up on the board that will be investigated after the race. How did you see it?
KR: I don’t know about the whole thing, so if you can tell me what it’s about that would be nice.

Q: Off the start line into the first corner and the incident with Vettel?
KR: I haven’t even noticed if I touched somebody. I was in-between, I think, Mark and somebody else but I don’t know what is going on. That is the first time when you told me but I didn’t feel any touching or anything, so I cannot comment on that.

Q: Mark, you are now second in the championship. You have taken some points off Jenson Button. Will you be asking the team now to back you for the championship?
MW: No, I think it is still a bit early. I think we can still fight the Brawns with Sebastian (Vettel) and I. We know there was a bit of a blip for them in the last three races and we hope that continues and we can continue to take points out of them together. We have got these guys up here as well. It is mixing things up a bit more. Sebastian had a bit of a tough weekend this weekend. Qualifying went well but obviously the race I don’t know what happened. But obviously he has lost some points which is the first time in a long time but he will be back and after the break we can recharge and take the fight again.

Q: Lewis, you have made all this progress. What next for you and McLaren for the rest of the season?
LH: We need to definitely take as much as we can from this weekend and continue to push. This means by no means we can start slowing down but that is not the way my team work anyway. We just have got to keep pushing. We have got some improvements to make for sure and some work to do to be able to beat these guys on a more regular basis. But this is one huge leap for us and hopefully we are now on the right track, so let’s keep going.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis it is just like the old days, Ferrari and McLaren. The normal thing really.
LH: It is. It is great to see you guys. It has been a long time. What can I say. We are not challenging for a championship but it has been a fantastic weekend for us and I am very proud to be back up here.

Q: You felt you could be on the podium but maybe not the top step. Do you think regular podiums now?
LH: Clearly we have got a good car. Well, we have made some serious improvements to the car and now it is a much better balanced car. Even though we had fantastic pace today it could have gone either way. The wind direction maybe could have changed and perhaps it would have suited the Ferrari or the Red Bull better than us. But everything just sort of fell into place today. I had quite a good start and had a good little dice with Mark. He is very fair and fortunately I didn’t get a puncture this time which is great. But for sure we hope that we can compete for more podiums but we still have work to do. We have just got to keep pushing.

Q: I don’t suppose you really want to take a break? You’d rather have a grand prix next weekend?
LH: I could race every day. I never miss it.

Q: In the break what are you planning to do? I mean you have got some nice time to think about this victory and how you can build on it?
LH: I think for us it is important that we just continue to push. We want to come back next year with the best possible chance of winning championships, so we need to continue to work on this year and understand everything to help us and hopefully make a good foundation for us to work on next year. But over the break I will relax a little bit, spend some time with the missis and with the family and hopefully come back to Valencia with another step forward and another opportunity to get onto the podium.

Q: But the emphasis is really on building for next year? 
LH: Yeah, we just want to keep winning. I think we definitely deserved it after such a tough stretch of time. It’s been hard on everyone: our new team principal and all the members of our team, but I couldn’t have done it without them. They’ve done a fantastic job and like I said, I’m just very, very proud to be associated with them because they’ve never given up and they’ve kept pushing. We’re going to continue to push and see how far we can get up in the championship but we will keep a keen eye on next year. 

Q: Obviously the start was important today, tell us about that. 
LH: It was very close. I generally didn’t really get a fantastic start initially, being on the dirty side, which is normal. Kimi seemed to get an incredible start and was up alongside me and I seemed to level off with him once I was on the KERS - we were both on KERS, I think. I don’t think he saw me but he was behind Mark and he moved to the right to go past him and we nearly touched. I went to the right and fortunately Sebastian gave me enough space, so no collision there. (I went) a little bit wide at turn one but back on KERS - you know KERS is working very well and just the whole package was fantastic but for once I was able to really use KERS to my advantage today, so that was good. 

Q: Does it work better on a twisty circuit like this? 
LH: No, not really, you’re always traction-limited and so it’s better with lots of long straights. I think here you could always see that my sector one has been the strongest all weekend but that’s largely due to KERS really, on the main straight. And with this kind of start there’s such a long stretch down to turn one, a bit like in Germany, it gives us a great opportunity to take a few places. 

Q: Kimi, first of all you were nearly hit by Mark Webber at the first pit stop; did you see him coming out? 
KR: Yeah, I saw when he came out. I took a little bit more space on the left hand side, so I was pretty sure that they would tell him that I was coming. I don’t know how close it was but I saw him and I gave him all the space that I could. 

Q: What about your own second stop, you seemed to lose time there?
KR: Yeah, we probably had some problem, and we needed to do a manual pull-away and then it went on to anti-stall, so it was a bit confusing but I just took it easy because I knew that we had enough time from behind, we were not in a hurry, so it took much longer than it should. It’s always a bit difficult if you cannot make a normal proper pit stop with a proper start. When you try to make a manual pull away it can easily go to anti-stall, so that was the issue today. 

Q: And generally speaking, how was the car? 
KR: It was OK, nothing special. We had some issues in a few places, we knew that before. They had been there almost the whole weekend. We were a bit limited by what we could do this weekend. Overall, we still had good speed but I think we could have had better speed. It’s nice to be second, for the team and for all the people who have put in a lot of effort and it hasn’t been an easy year or an easy weekend with Felipe’s accident yesterday but we need to be happy. We knew that our car was probably not the fastest one but we still got a good result, good points. It was good but not exactly what we wanted. You are never going to be happy unless you’re in first place, Hopefully we can keep up this kind of speed and try to get good podium finishes and hopefully get at least one win this year. 

Q: Mark, you’re getting quite a taste for these podiums, aren’t you? 
MW: Yes, I am. It was a good day for us. We knew we were going to have a slightly different fight on our hands this weekend and particularly after qualifying, with these guys sitting in behind us. The KERS is a big part of the first lap and the first stint, to be honest, and I was very, very happy to survive the first lap in second place. I expected to go further back. It looked like there was a lot of elbowing – well, there was – in the first corner as we expect these days and then in the first stint I wasn’t really worried about Fernando (Alonso) because we knew how short he was. I was very, very concerned about my tyres. It started off well, and then in the middle of the stint I was trying to nurse them, making sure that I didn’t lose too much time to the guys – you know, just getting down the road in terms of general race pace, because I was worried about Fernando and Lewis got a good run out of the last corner. Also, with the head wind and KERS the slipstream was working very well. We could have fought a lot harder and risked a bit more but there was no real point. I thought of not letting him go but Lewis was also pretty quick. I thought that he wasn’t going to hold me up at all, so that was, in a way, a bit of a relief. And Lewis thoroughly deserved to win. McLaren did a great job today. We could have had a slightly different fight with Kimi but in the end it didn’t work out, so they got second and we got third.

Q: Are you slightly worried about McLaren and Ferrari’s fightback in terms of your championship chances, now you’re second? 
MW: If we win and make it very, very boring, it’s great for us, but in the end, to be honest, I think it was a good day for the sport. Lewis is back and Ferrari are back and that’s what Red Bull likes. We love racing these guys and fighting hard against them. We knew they would come back. KERS is going to play a bit of a role in the closing part of the championship but thankfully we capitalised in the early part of the championship when these guys were struggling, in terms of points, so that was a big benefit to us. We’re going to continue to be in the hunt. Our guys have got a lot of positive things to look forward to. Both drivers are trying to get the most out of the car and it was a good day for us. Renault did a great job on the engine again, we saw that with qualifying, the top three were Renault engines. My engine was quite long in the tooth today but we got it home which we’re very happy with. 

Q: Was that your release out of the pits when you nearly collided with the Ferrari? 
MW: It was, yeah. We had a little bit of confusion in the stop. To be honest, I was thinking about the guys and the fuel rig. You’re so focused on making sure that everything is safe, releasing yourself and then when I did get released, I knew I had to give Kimi room and he got me. And then we did the ice skating in the first few corners on the tyres. Thank God tyre blankets are in next year because it would be a joke if they weren’t. 

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Tony Dodgins) Lewis, key moment when you passed Mark in the first stint. We’re not used to seeing people go round the outside there, was that the KERS button? 
LH: I’d actually used all my KERS down the straight because actually I thought that I’d be able to get him in turn one but he blocked, so I went to the outside. I think I may have used a little bit at the beginning but I ran out. Mark was in my blind spot eventually, so I couldn’t really see him, so I gave him plenty of room and eventually I saw him fade into the back. It was quite a straightforward move but clearly Mark was very smart, he’s got to score points and there’s no real point in him to taking silly risks. As for me, I needed to get past him. I was absolutely surprised to see that I was even able to keep up with him but I was able to go past him and still pull away whilst looking after my tyres, so it was good. 

Q: (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) This is to all three of you: I was just wondering how much the day has been overshadowed in some respects, given what has happened to Felipe and his current condition at the moment? 
MW: What happened was very unfortunate. We have phenomenal safety in Formula One and yesterday was just incredibly freakish that that type of material could have been bouncing around and then bouncing at head height and then Felipe was coming, so very freakish that it should happen. This is the job we do but also we’re very relieved, of course, that he’s OK. Surgery went OK and I’m sure he will be a million bucks in a few months, so that’s the main thing. He’s got good people around him, the FIA did a good job at the scene. We don’t want to get too carried away with it but he will be fine and we’re fully behind him, of course. We missed him on the grid today but the show goes on. 
LH: I think I would just say that for me, I’ve had a great relationship with Felipe for quite a few years now and some great battles with him and for sure to not see him with us today was definitely sad to see but I’m glad that the surgery went well and we’re just going to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. He’s got a child coming, he needs to get back to top shape, so when he’s finally a Dad he can do the job well. 
KR: It’s the same story. It was really a very, very unlucky situation where he ended up. As long as we race with open cockpits our heads are always the worst place and the first place that’s going to be hit if there’s something flying around. What happened was really unfortunate but luckily enough he’s more or less OK. He’s probably going to be a hundred percent fine in a little time. We in the team all hope that he’s going to be fine and come back soon. This is a part of racing and we all know that. It’s just a sad thing to happen.

Source - F1.com

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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So after months of talking the talk, Lewis wins a race in the MP4-24. Its the first ever KERS win, in fact this weekend was the first time KERS cars came out on top! I don’t want get to excited about it all though as I’m sure the circuit’s characteristics helped both Mclaren & Ferrari move further up the standing.

Brawn do however seem to be struggling, not only with pace and tyre issues but safety as it was a spring from Rubens’ car that sadly hit Felipe Massa on the head during the end of Saturday’s Q2. This accident seemed to unsettle Barrichello and with his focus for that weekend clearly with his friend Felipe he had a disappointing race finishing 10th.

A mixed race for Red Bull with Vettel retiring due to suspension damage caused by his tussle with Raikkonen and Webber managing to hang onto the back of the KERS cars and bring his home in 3rd. The Australian confirming his place as a title rival for his team mate & the Brawn GP team.

Raikkonen put in a brilliant effort in Hungary. With another amazing start, he looked like the fearless Kimi of old. He went from 7th to 4th at the first corner, fighting wheel to wheel with Vettel, Hamilton & Webber! He managed to hold on to 2nd place in the final stages of the GP, even though Webber was closing in. 

He looked after his tyres and pushed as hard as he could but couldn’t quite match the McLaren of Hamilton. Kimi’s result also put Ferrari into 3rd position in the constructors, although the teams thoughts were clearly with Massa as they all dedicated this result to him. Lets hope the fire has returned and we’ll see Kimi fighting in F1 again for the next year or so at least, before he thinks of moving over to WRC. After all no matter how impressive his debut is at Rally Finland, he’s won’t get a top seat in a top team for 2010 and thats what he’ll be after. He’ll only be in it to win!

Nico Rosberg put in another impressive performance in his williams, finishing 4th again. He’s having a very consistent year and Williams will be desperate to keep hold of him.

Shockingly hours after the race we learn that Renault are to be excluded from the forthcoming European GP, for releasing Alonso without warning him his wheel wasn’t fitted correctly.  Something that will outrage not only the team & its drivers (although Piquet doesn’t look like he’ll be around!) but more importantly the thousands of Alonso fans who’ll have bought tickets for this 2nd Spanish race. It seems a little harsh as its a knee jerk reaction to Massa’s Q2 incident and the unfortunate accident in F2 which sadly took the life of young Henry Surtees. 

So after an unusually exciting and eventful race weekend in Hungary (without the need for any rain) and great return to form, here’s hoping Kimi can: hold on to this positive momentum, ignore the Schumi returning to Ferrari hype and get a good result in Valencia. 

Most of all though we wish Massa a speedy recovery. Forza Felipe & Go Kimi!

Jemela Coventry

GoKimi Team

Results
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:38:23.876
02 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 11.529
03 M. Webber Red Bull + 16.886
04 N. Rosberg Williams + 26.967
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 34.392
06 T. Glock Toyota + 35.237
07 J. Button Brawn GP + 55.088
08 J. Trulli Toyota + 1:08.172
09 K. Nakajima Williams + 1:08.774
10 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 1:09.256
11 N. Heidfeld BMW + 1:10.600
12 N.Piquet Renault + 1:11.500
13 R. Kubica BMW + 1:14.000
14 G. Fisichella Force India F1 + 1 laps
15 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 laps
16 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1 laps
Did not finish
17 S. Vettel Red Bull + 41 laps
18 F. Alonso Renault + 55 laps
19 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 69 laps

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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26 July, Hungaroring, Hungary

Bridgestone Motorsport’s Hungarian Grand Prix Report

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) used a super soft – super soft - soft tyre strategy to score his first race win of the season after a thrilling and tactical Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.

Hamilton finished over 11 seconds ahead of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen who used the same tyre strategy to achieve his best finish of the season. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) used a super soft – soft – super soft strategy for his second third placed finish of the year.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says

“Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for taking their first win of the year. They have worked very hard for this result and it is good to see another winner this season. Well done to Ferrari too for their best result of the season with Kimi Raikkonen on what has been a very difficult weekend for everyone. Of course, our thoughts are with Felipe Massa who we wish a speedy recovery.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says

“Lewis Hamilton and McLaren have shown that it is possible for a KERS car to win, even on a very slow circuit, which was a great achievement today. The track conditions continued to improve through the race and we saw Mark Webber set the fastest race lap five laps before the chequered flag. “It was interesting to see different tyre and fuel strategies through the field. Both Bridgestone tyres worked well. Some cars suffered from oversteer and we did see some rear tyre graining today, particularly on the super soft. Those who could manage this achieved good results. Overall, our tyre allocation was correct for this circuit. After what we have seen today I think we will see a very interesting end to the season after the summer break.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Free Practice 1

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:22.278            21

 2.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:22.337  + 0.059   27

 3.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:22.554  + 0.276   20

 4.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:22.615  + 0.337   21

 5.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:22.619  + 0.341   25

 6.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:22.705  + 0.427   17

 7.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:22.796  + 0.518   23

 8.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:22.855  + 0.577   25

 9.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:23.001  + 0.723   28

10.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:23.130  + 0.852   25

11.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:23.146  + 0.868   24

12.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:23.154  + 0.876   23

13.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:23.209  + 0.931   24

14.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:23.234  + 0.956   30

15.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:23.283  + 1.005   25

16.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:23.484  + 1.206   20

17.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:23.678  + 1.400   22

18.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:23.845  + 1.567   18

19.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:23.998  + 1.720   37

20.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:24.228  + 1.950   42

Free Practice 2

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:22.079            36

 2.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:22.126  + 0.047   36

 3.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:22.154  + 0.075   47

 4.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:22.369  + 0.290   29

 5.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:22.426  + 0.347   40

 6.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:22.550  + 0.471   30

 7.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:22.641  + 0.562   38

 8.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:22.663  + 0.584   28

 9.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:22.690  + 0.611   43

10.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:22.751  + 0.672   45

11.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:22.763  + 0.684   38

12.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:22.793  + 0.714   37

13.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:22.806  + 0.727   42

14.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:22.870  + 0.791   36

15.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:22.927  + 0.848   36

16.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:22.978  + 0.899   28

17.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:23.029  + 0.950   39

18.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:23.156  + 1.077   32

19.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:23.176  + 1.097   45

20.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:23.942  + 1.863   40

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Free Practice One

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps
 1.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:33.082            19
 2.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:33.463  + 0.381   18
 3.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:33.745  + 0.663   21
 4.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:33.795  + 0.713   23
 5.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:33.839  + 0.757   26
 6.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:33.840  + 0.758   23
 7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:33.902  + 0.820   26
 8.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:33.909  + 0.827   13
 9.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:33.952  + 0.870   25
10.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:34.148  + 1.066   16
11.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:34.221  + 1.139   25
12.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:34.227  + 1.145   17
13.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:34.483  + 1.401   14
14.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:34.694  + 1.612   23
15.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:34.738  + 1.656   24
16.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:34.827  + 1.745   27
17.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:34.878  + 1.796   28
18.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:34.893  + 1.811   26
19.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:34.911  + 1.829   23
20.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:35.092  + 2.010    6

Free Practice Two

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps
 1.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:32.149            23
 2.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:32.331  + 0.182   31
 3.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:32.369  + 0.220   32
 4.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:32.480  + 0.331   28
 5.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:32.511  + 0.362   32
 6.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:32.585  + 0.436   32
 7.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:32.664  + 0.515   26
 8.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:32.774  + 0.625   24
 9.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:32.872  + 0.723   32
10.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:32.992  + 0.843   29
11.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:33.012  + 0.863   36
12.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:33.052  + 0.903   34
13.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:33.128  + 0.979   34
14.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:33.161  + 1.012   28
15.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:33.172  + 1.023   34
16.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:33.182  + 1.033   29
17.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:33.724  + 1.575   27
18.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:33.903  + 1.754   30
19.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:34.025  + 1.876   30
20.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:38.877  + 6.728    3

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Press Release

World Motor Sport Council - Decision 

01/05/2009 

Re: Article 151(c) and 152 International Sporting Code – Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
29 April 2009

The World Motor Sport Council (“WMSC”) met on 29th April 2009 to consider a charge that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (“McLaren”), a competitor in the FIA Formula One World Championship, had breached Article 151(c) of the International Sporting Code (“ISC”), which prohibits “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally”. 
1 Background

1.1 During the closing laps of the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, an incident occurred which required that the safety car be deployed.  At the time of deployment, driver No. 1 Lewis Hamilton (for McLaren) was placed fourth and driver No. 9 Jarno Trulli (for Panasonic Toyota Racing (“Toyota”)) was placed third.

1.2 While running behind the safety car, Trulli left the track and Hamilton passed to take third place.  Hamilton subsequently moved off the racing line to the right of the track and Trulli repassed, taking back third place.

1.3 Article 40.7 of the 2009 Formula One Sporting Regulations sets out the rules governing overtaking while running behind the safety car.  Article 40.7 reads, in relevant part, as follows: “All competing cars must […] reduce speed and form up in line behind the safety car no more than ten car lengths apart and overtaking, with the following exceptions, is forbidden until the cars reach the Line after the safety car has returned to the pits. Overtaking will be permitted under the following circumstances: […] - .

1.4 In light of Article 40.7 and the fact that Hamilton and Trulli had passed each other while running behind the safety car, the matter was referred to the Stewards of the Meeting (“Stewards”) by the FIA Race Director.  As part of their investigation of the incident, the Stewards summoned Trulli and Hamilton and their respective team managers to a hearing on 29th March 2009 at which the FIA Race Director was also present (“29th March Hearing”).

1.5 At the 29th March Hearing, the Stewards and the Race Director asked questions regarding Trulli’s passing of Hamilton.  Trulli stated that Hamilton had moved off the racing line to the right of the track and had begun to travel very slowly.  As a result, Trulli pulled up alongside Hamilton to see whether Hamilton would wave him through.  There being no response, Trulli proceeded to pass Hamilton. 

1.6 Hamilton was asked by the Stewards why he had moved off his line and whether there was a problem with his car.  He informed the Stewards that there were no problems with his car and that he had drifted right because he was checking his lap time and was concerned that his tyres were cold.  Hamilton was then asked whether he had consciously let Trulli pass.  He said “no”.  He was asked if he had been told to let Trulli through, at which point his Team Manager, Dave Ryan, interjected and answered “no”.  There were further exchanges, with the Stewards posing similar questions but Hamilton and his Team Manager were clear in their insistence that Hamilton had not slowed down and had not let Trulli through. 

1.7 The Stewards considered the evidence, including the McLaren representatives’ statements, and issued a decision, penalising Trulli for overtaking while behind the safety car in breach of Article 40.7 and imposing a drive-through penalty.  Since the race was already finished, the drive-through penalty was converted into a penalty of 25 seconds to be added to Trulli’s elapsed race time.  As a result of the penalty, Trulli was demoted from third place to twelfth place and Hamilton was moved from fourth place to third place. 

1.8 From the release of the aforementioned decision until the reconvening of the Stewards in Malaysia on 2nd April 2009, no McLaren representative contacted the FIA, its Race Director or the Stewards in relation to that decision.  During this time, the official result of the Australian Grand Prix was understood to be that Hamilton had been placed third and that Trulli had been placed twelfth.

1.9 Late on Sunday evening, after the official result had been published, it came to the attention of the Chairman of the Stewards and the FIA Race Director that there existed a press interview given by Hamilton in which he stated that he had been told by McLaren to let Trulli pass.  Based on this information, a recording of the pit-to-car radio exchanges between Hamilton and McLaren was retrieved and examined by the Stewards and the FIA Race Director.  Having been informed by Hamilton that Trulli had left the track and that Hamilton had passed to take third position, the team instructed Hamilton as follows:

“Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through.  Allow the Toyota through now.”

1.10 Hamilton responded: “OK.” 

1.11 Having listened to the press interview and the pit-to-car radio exchanges, the Stewards reconvened on Thursday 2nd April 2009 in Malaysia (“2nd April Hearing”) where Hamilton and Trulli and their respective team managers were interviewed again.  Trulli confirmed his statement from the 29th March Hearing (see section 1.5). 

1.12 Hamilton and his Team Manager were played recordings of the press interview and the pit-to-car radio exchanges evidencing that Hamilton had been instructed to let Trulli pass and had done so.  Notwithstanding the clear content of the recordings, Hamilton and his Team Manager reconfirmed their statements that Hamilton had not consciously let Trulli pass and that McLaren had not instructed Hamilton to let Trulli pass.  The Race Director and the Stewards then gave Hamilton and his Team Manager a further opportunity to correct the statements they had made at the 29th March Hearing.  They declined to do so. 

1.13 The Stewards found McLaren’s explanations inadequate and concluded that – at the 29th March Hearing – there had been a deliberate and successful attempt to mislead the Stewards.  This had led to Hamilton being moved incorrectly from fourth to third and to Trulli being unfairly penalised.

1.14 The Stewards therefore issued new decisions – Decisions Nos. 76 and 77 – respectively excluding Hamilton and McLaren from the race classification for the Australian Grand Prix and reinstating Trulli and Toyota in third place.

1.15 In comments to the press immediately after the release of Decisions Nos. 76 and 77, the McLaren Team Principal stated that McLaren stood by the representations made to the Stewards by Hamilton and his Team Manager. 

1.16 Hamilton held a press conference on 3rd April 2009 at the Malaysia Grand Prix.  In that press conference, Hamilton reversed the position he had taken at the 29th March Hearing and the 2nd April Hearing, apologised to the Stewards, the FIA and the public for having provided misleading information to the Stewards on both occasions, but pointed out that, during both hearings, he had been acting under instructions from his team.    Subsequently, the McLaren Team Principal also apologised and announced the suspension of the McLaren Team Manager.

1.17 The FIA Observer presented to the FIA President on 7th April 2009 a report titled: “Report of the Hamilton/Trulli incident during the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix and subsequent issues” (“FIA Observer’s Report”), outlining the above facts. 

1.18 In response, the FIA decided to summon McLaren before the WMSC to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151(c) ISC, it:

 (a) on 29th March 2009, told the Stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue;

 (b) procured its driver Hamilton, the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the Stewards;

 (c) although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the Stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise;

 (d) on 2nd April 2009, before the Stewards of the Australian Grand Prix (meeting in Malaysia), made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29th March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli pass and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement; and

 (e) on 2nd April 2009, before the Stewards, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the Stewards on 29th March, while knowing that what he was saying to the Stewards was not true.

1.19 In its written response to these charges, McLaren accepted that, both at and between the 29th March Hearing and the 2nd April Hearing, McLaren had acted in breach of Article 151(c) ISC.  McLaren’s Team Principal expressed McLaren’s, and his personal, unreserved apology to the WMSC, the Stewards, the FIA and Formula One competitors and fans.  In addition, in a separate letter to WMSC members, the McLaren Team Principal admitted that McLaren’s conduct regarding these matters was “wholly unacceptable” and expressed his sincere apologies. 

1.20 At the WMSC meeting on 29th April 2009, the McLaren Team Principal again admitted that McLaren had been in breach of Article 151(c) ISC and offered representations for the purposes of mitigation (see section 2.7).                

2 WMSC’s Assessment

2.1 The WMSC has carefully considered the FIA Observer’s Report, McLaren’s written submissions of 14th April 2009 and its representations in mitigation at the WMSC meeting on 29th April 2009.  The material facts of the case, being the deliberate and successful attempt to mislead the Stewards at the 29th March Hearing and the failure, when confronted with incontrovertible evidence at the 2nd April Hearing, to correct the position adopted, are not in dispute.  In addition, McLaren has admitted that its conduct amounted to a breach of Article 151(c) ISC.   
 
2.2 Under Article 152 ISC, seventh paragraph, the WMSC: “may, upon the proposal and report of the FIA observer […] directly inflict a penalty which will take the place of any penalty which the stewards of the meeting may have pronounced”.
2.3 The WMSC considers that McLaren’s course of conduct as set out in section 1 of this Decision amounted to a serious breach of Article 151(c).  By making deliberately misleading representations to the Stewards, and then failing to correct those misleading representations, McLaren gained illegitimate advantage and caused the unfair imposition of a penalty upon a fellow competitor.  The WMSC wishes to emphasise that it finds this latter element particularly reprehensible. 
2.4 In addition, by its course of conduct, McLaren has brought the sport into disrepute. The WMSC considers – and McLaren has accepted – that sole responsibility cannot lie with the Team Manager who misled the Stewards and who procured Hamilton to do likewise.  Rather, the course of conduct occurred over such a period of time that the WMSC finds that McLaren’s management either were aware or should have been aware that the Stewards had been misled. 
2.5 In light of the foregoing, the WMSC considers that pursuant to Article 151(c) and 152 ISC, seventh paragraph, the Stewards’ Decision No. 76, which excluded Hamilton and McLaren from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, should be replaced with this Decision, which imposes a more severe penalty.
2.6 In short, the WMSC considers that the penalty must be of a magnitude that reflects accurately the severity of the offence and effectively deters McLaren – and other competitors in the FIA Formula One World Championship – from deliberately misleading the Stewards in the future.  However, the penalty imposed must also take into account other relevant factors.
2.7 In determining the sanction to be imposed on McLaren, the WMSC considered a number of factors presented by McLaren in mitigation.  These factors (together, “Mitigating Factors”) included the following:

• (a)  that the McLaren Team Principal admitted all material facts, including the making of deliberately misleading statements to the Stewards and the subsequent failure to correct such misleading representations;
   
• (b)  that the McLaren Team Principal accepted in written submissions that McLaren’s course of conduct in the matter had been unacceptable and offered an unreserved apology both personally, and on behalf of McLaren, to all affected parties;
   
• (c)  that the McLaren Team Principal has assured members of the WMSC that there has been a change in culture within McLaren and that the course of conduct – or similar – will not be repeated;
   
• (d)  that, on realising his mistakes, Hamilton held a press conference at which he apologised for his actions; and
   
• (e)  that McLaren promptly suspended, and subsequently terminated the employment of, its Team Manager, who misled the Stewards and who procured that Hamilton did likewise.
   

2.8 However, in addition to considering the existence of Mitigating Factors, the WMSC also considered whether there were aggravating factors suggesting that the level of any penalty should be increased.  In this instance, the WMSC recalls that McLaren has recently breached Article 151(c) of the International Sporting Code (see Decision of the WMSC 13 September 2007).

2.9 Recidivism is a strong indicator that the sanction previously imposed was not sufficiently deterrent and recidivism is thus a circumstance which may justify an increase in the severity of the penalty which might otherwise be imposed.  The purpose of taking recidivism into account in setting a penalty is to induce teams which have demonstrated a tendency towards infringing the rules in the past to change their conduct in the future.  The WMSC therefore also takes into account, as an aggravating factor, McLaren’s 2007 breach of Article 151(c) ISC.  

3 Decision

 
3.1 The WMSC finds Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in breach of Article 151(c) ISC in relation to each of the five counts identified in the FIA’s summons to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, reproduced at 1.18 (a) to (e) above. 

3.2 Pursuant to Article 151(c) ISC and 152 ISC, seventh paragraph, the WMSC therefore replaces the sanction imposed by Decision No. 76 of the Stewards with the following:
(a)  the exclusion of the driver Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix; and
(b)  the suspension of the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes from three rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
Exceptionally, and in light in part of the Mitigating Factors (including the open and honest way in which the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Principal addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear had taken place), penalty (b) shall be suspended for twelve months from the date of this Decision.  In the event that, during the period of suspension of penalty (b), either: (i) further facts emerge that are relevant to the WMSC’s assessment of the gravity of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ breach; or (ii) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes commits a further breach of Article 151(c), the WMSC may implement penalty (b) in relation to the breach set out in this Decision.  
3.3 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is reminded of its right of appeal.  In the event that an appeal is lodged with the FIA International Court of Appeal, the effect of this Decision will not be suspended pending the outcome of that appeal.

Source- FIA

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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The FIA has released the following statement:

“Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been invited to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, 29 April, 2009, to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, it

- on 29 March, 2009, told the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton in Car No. 1 to allow Trulli in Car no. 9 to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue; 

- procured its driver Hamilton the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the stewards; 

- although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise; 

- on 2 April, 2009, at a second hearing before the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix, (meeting in Malaysia) made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29 March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli past and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement;

- on 2 April, 2009, at the second stewards’ hearing, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the stewards on 29 March, while knowing that what he was saying to the stewards was not true.”

In response, McLaren issued the following press release:
“McLaren acknowledges receipt of an invitation to appear at an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on April 29, received this afternoon. We undertake to co-operate fully with all WMSC processes, and welcome the opportunity to work with the FIA in the best interests of Formula 1. 

“This afternoon McLaren and its former sporting director, Dave Ryan, have formally parted company. As a result, he is no longer an employee of any of the constituent companies of the McLaren Group.”

Source - F1’s official website

Press Release

Stewards Decision - Australian GP 

02/04/2009 

PENALTY IMPOSED ON DRIVER NO 1 LEWIS HAMILTON AND COMPETITOR VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES

SUMMARY OF KEY CONSIDERATIONS

At the first hearing following the Australian Grand Prix the Stewards did not have the benefit of the radio exchanges between driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and his Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes nor did they have access to the comments to the Media given by Lewis Hamilton immediately after the end of the race.

From the video recordings available to the Stewards during the hearing it appeared that Jarno Trulli’s car left the track and car No 1 moved into third place. It then appeared that Trulli overtook Hamilton to regain third place, which at the time was prohibited as it was during the Safety Car period.

During the hearing, held approximately one hour after the end of the race, the Stewards and the Race Director questioned Lewis Hamilton and his Team Manager David Ryan specifically about whether there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to overtake. Both the driver and the Team Manager stated that no such instruction had been given. The Race Director specifically asked Hamilton whether he had consciously allowed Trulli to overtake. Hamilton insisted that he had not done so. 

The new elements presented to the Stewards several days after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix which led to the reconvened Stewards Meeting clearly show that:

a.    Immediately after the race and before Lewis Hamilton attended the Stewards Meeting he gave an interview to the Media where he clearly stated that the Team had told him to let Trulli pass.

b.    Furthermore, the radio exchanges between the driver and the Team contain two explicit orders from the Team to let the Toyota pass.

The Stewards, having learned about the radio exchanges and the Media interview, felt strongly that they had been misled by the driver and his Team Manager which led to Jarno Trulli being unfairly penalised and Lewis Hamilton gaining third place.

Source & audio available at FIA

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