Right, so, some people speculating about Kovalainen going to Lotus. Should we start new F1 2013 thread and spuculate about drivers and so there ?
don't think it'll happen tbh, not sure Alonso wants to win it this way. EDIT: reading the BBC article, it seems like Fernando is pushing this. If Vettel indeed passed Vergne under yellow flags, he should be penalized.
hmmm, watching that footage over and over, Vettel should indeed be penalized. He clearly overtook Vergne under yellow flags, that is a penalty right there. Alonso champion?
seems a bit sad really. dunno i am pretty 50/50 concerning alonso as it stands. massa mmm ditto. btw kimi was the best for me last gp with his off track antics. kobayashi has no team? why oh why?
thing is if Vettel overtook under yellow flags, I have no sympathy and its a straight forward penalty.
Looks like ferrari have full rights to complain up until the 30th. This does not look good for Vettel. The 20s penalty will put him in 8th and 1 point behind Alonso.
wow that would really be a bit harsh on Vettel. What a headfeck. Ok so Alonso wins.. "right everyone we have won. party on" "ok fernando see u in madrid in 1 week from now. (hooray, i was just enjoying my rest)!"
As much as i detest Alonso, after watching this new video that actully does show a flashing yellow light on a different overtake with Vettel i have to say, a penalty was (possibly is) required. All the complaints over the other overtake were wrong as it was a solid yellow light (slippery track), but this was one is very clear - he did the overtake in a flashing yellow zone and completed it before the green light. The reason i said "possibly is" above is simple, this overtake was done on lap 4 and should have been dealt with during the race (as usual on early race incidents), the stewards had at least 60 laps to give a drive through but didn't. Such a shame that the title couldl be decided like this, but rules are rule and this needs to be looked at in both ways (a possible penalty for Vettel AND questions as to why such an early incident wasn't spotted by any stewards.
the way I see it is - If Vettel passed Vergne under yellows, then he should be penalized. it's pure stupidity and it's a penalty, there's no doubt about it. About the title being decided like this... nobody really cares, look at how Senna won the title in 1990 and how Schumacher won it in 1994 (or how Villeneuve won it in 1997, basically by Schumacher being exposed as a massive bellend and after they took all his points away). I don't care who is upset by this, but if Vettel broke the rule, he should be penalized.
I agree he did break the rule, however - if they had given the penalty on or around lap 5/6 onwards he would have still had a chance to win - because the stewards messed up and didn't issue one and now may have to do it after the race (in which there was well over 60 laps to issue it) it's a bit of a pickle. You can think there is no doubt about it, but the fact remains the stewards made a very big mistake here and this should have been dealt with much sooner (like before lap 10) - this has to be (and i would bet, will be) taken into consideration. As for no one really caring if the title is decided like this, i care (and i'd wager i'm not the only 1) because despite Vettle doing an overtake the way he did, the stewards had loads of time to issue the penalty during the race which would have given Vettle ample time to still have a chance to win the title, if they do it like this then well - it may be right BUT it certanly isn't good as not only did Vettle make a mistake, so did the stewards.
The overtake was legal. There is a green flag being waved on the left at the exit of turn 3. Which makes sense because Maldonado's accident is before the straight. Both the track side and steering wheel lights are used as additional visual aids but the rules pertain to the flags so they take precedence. The entire back straight was under green flag conditions at the time of the pass. AFAIK Ferrari are not protesting this.
it's Vettel. and we often have penalties after the race. in this case the stewards seem to have missed it and now it's been brought into their attention, Vettel should be penalized. what he did was strictly against the rules. simple as that.