Lewis Hamilton shrugged off the decision by motor racing’s governing body to turn down McLaren’s appeal against the penalty that cost the Briton his victory in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps (September 7).
Reacting to the FIA verdict, Hamilton said: “People will probably expect me to be depressed about today’s result but that isn’t me.”
Hamilton, who was told of the appeal court’s verdict on his arrival in Singapore on September 23, remarked: “All I want to do now is put this behind me and get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other.”
We’re racers, we’re naturally competitive and we love to overtake. Overtaking is difficult and it feels great when you manage to pull off a great passing manoeuvre. If it pleases the spectators and TV viewers it’s better still. So I’m disappointed, yes, but not depressed.”
Hamilton was originally penalised with the addition of 25sec to his elapsed race time after the Belgian Grand Prix during which the stewards concluded he had gained an unfair advantage over the Ferrari driven by Kimi Raikkonen in the course of their battle for the lead in the closing stages.
The FIA court of appeal ruled that this sanction fell within the scope of Article 152, paragraph 5, of the International Sporting Code. According to these provisions “penalties of driving through or stopping in pit-lanes, together with certain penalties specified in FIA Championship regulations where this is expressly stated, are not susceptible to appeal.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren’s chief operating officer, said: “We are naturally disappointed with today’s verdict and to have received no ruling on the substance of our appeal. No one wants to win GPs in court but we felt that Lewis had won the Belgian Grand Prix on track.”
Alan Henry/ © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008
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