Lewis penalised
Lewis Hamilton and McLaren are disqualified from Australian GP
Following Lewis Hamilton’s heroic effort in reaching the podium from 18th on the grid, the FIA has now decided to disqualify McLaren and Hamilton from the Australian Grand Prix for ‘misleading’ stewards.
The accusations come after an inquiry was launched into the final laps of the race in Melbourne in which Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was originally deemed to have illegally overtaken Lewis under the safety car. Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty that saw him relegated to 12th.
The FIA has announced that Trulli’s third place finish has now been reinstated on appeal after it was judged that McLaren had provided ‘evidence deliberately misleading to the stewards at the hearing on 29th March’.
The video evidence available to the stewards for consideration at the time showed Trulli sliding off the track with Hamilton passing; a legal move under the safety car. It then seemed as though Trulli had overtaken Hamilton, which is an illegal move whilst following the safety car.
At the enquiry, both Hamilton and McLaren were questioned about Trulli’s overtaking move. Both driver and team insisted that Hamilton had not intentionally let Trulli past. However, in an interview recorded shortly after the race, Hamilton claimed that he had been told by McLaren to move over and let the Toyota past. A review of the radio transmission between Hamilton and McLaren revealed that they had told him ‘allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now’.
In withholding this evidence from the enquiry the FIA believe that Jarno Trulli was wrongly penalised and his position should be reinstated.
