Did you catch the F1 race this morning? What a finish! Lewis Hamilton and Kimmi Raikkonen duelled it out in the last three laps as rain started falling. Hamilton tried to make a pass on the outside, but Raikkonen closed the door and Hamilton had to run wide which ultimately gave him the lead. According to the rules, because he didn't make the pass "on track", Hamilton had to give the place right back to Raikkonen. Which he did, but then he went on to make the pass again, and this time it worked. Hamilton went on to win the race and Raikkonen crashed out in the rain. A few hours after the race the FIA posted this:Felipe Massa has been declared the official winner of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, after stewards penalized Lewis Hamilton.
25 seconds were retrospectively added to the British championship leader's finishing time, meaning his victory at the checkered flag now becomes third place, behind Massa's Ferrari and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. The amended result also means 23-year-old Hamilton's lead in the drivers' standings is reduced from a potential 8 to just 2 points with five races to go in 2008.
Stewards deemed Hamilton did not properly allow Kimi Raikkonen to re-pass after overtaking the Ferrari driver by cutting the Bus Stop chicane with three laps to go.
Hamilton did let the Finn pass him after the chicane, but he then used the slipstream of the Ferrari to immediately launch a successful overtaking move at the next corner.
Stewards also gave Toyota's Timo Glock a 25-second time penalty for overtaking the Red Bull of Mark Webber under yellow flags, which were waving in the wake of Raikkonen's race-ending crash.
The penalty promoted Webber back into to eighth place.
All I have to say is bullshit! It was a great finish to a not so bad race. The FIA should let the results stand as it ended. And why does Ferrari always come out smelling like roses whenever there is a decision by the FIA and Mclaren gets the shaft. McLaren should tell the FIA to get stuffed. What a bullshit call!
info and picture courtesy of http://formula-one.speedtv.com
