Raikkonen keeps title as Williams & BMW cleared (updated)

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Kimi Raikkonen’s Formula 1 title is safe as the F1 stewards ruled that the Williams and BMW drivers would not be disqualified from the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The original results from the Brazilian Grand Prix have been confirmed with Lewis Hamilton second in the championship ahead of Fernando Alonso.

After six hours of deliberations the stewards said Williams and BMW teams were not punished because it was technically impossible to prove the temperature of the fuel within the car.

The statement noted that they had neither “A precise reading of the temperature of ‘fuel on board the car’ which shows fuel at more than 10 degrees centigrade below ambient temperature,” nor, “a regulation stating in clear terms that for the purposes of Article [6.5.5] the definitive ambient temperature shall be indicated on the FOM timing monitors alone.

“In view of the matters referred to above, the stewards consider that not withstanding the presumptions referred to above there must be sufficient doubt as to both the temperature of the fuel actually ‘on board the car’ and also as to the true ambient temperature as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty.”

It remains to be seen whether the decision will or can be appealed.

Photo: Ferrari media

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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16 comments on “Raikkonen keeps title as Williams & BMW cleared (updated)”

  1. And lets hope that’s the end to that….I am off to bed!

  2. Oh, thank goodness.

    I don’t think I’ve breathed since I logged on and saw about this!

  3. agreed, a crazy way to spend an evening instead of celebrating.

  4. P.S Thank you Keith for keeping us up to date so fantastically :) Really brilliant site here :D

  5. You’re welcome Kirk!

  6. McLaren is appealing the decesion. I am in the US I just saw the news as I was watching American Football. Why did I think that this year could end so clean and not check up more often.

  7. this is ridiculous.

    i guess the season will be indeed decided in a courtroom.

  8. This is my bet: Kimi will still be world champ.

    We only need to look back to Brazil 1995.

    Winner Schumi and runner-up DC were put under investigation for having failed with their fuel check. They were first DSQed, but both Benetton and Williams appealed. What the FIA and the stewards did was dock the teams constructors points, but let them keep the drivers points.

    Wait – Williams – again??? Goodness.

  9. I think Mclaren should not appeal this decision.

    They have already had enough problems for the year. I think they should just bit the bullet and let this year pass. If they try to appeal this, it will be like Al Gore conceding the win; and trying to go to court to fight the chad ballots.

    If the decision is appealed, let it be by any other team like Redbull, who will stand to gain a bit from this. If Mclaren appeals, it will come out as a sore loser.

  10. AmericanTifosi
    22nd October 2007, 4:02

    McLaren shouldn’t appeal. This is getting absurd. Can I go back to celebrating now, please? Stupid FIA. Thanks for the update. Love the sport, hate the politics.

  11. Yeah, thanks Keith. Really great blog you have here. Love it very much. I’m new to it so this is quite refreshing.

    Kimi’s championship has been long in the coming. He deserves it as much as Hamilton or Alonso (though I think those two need a good pat on the hand for their bickering).

    Its been a great 2007 F1 season, and I’m looking forward to 2008 already.

    Keep up the brilliant work, Keith.

  12. “fuel temperature”? Six hours investigating? What they were really doing is waiting for word from MadMax and Bernie. Can you imagine Monday morning, MadMax Mosley announcing different results ……… talk about bringing disrepute to the ‘sport’, but we all know it’s not beyond him !!! Cheers for Massa, he did the right thing.

  13. Kimi is a deserved world champion, and it would have been very bad for the sport for the results to be changed.

    That said, what’s fair is fair, and it seems strange to propose that between the instant the fuel leaves the hose and the instant it is on board the car, it would change that much instantaneously. It MUST have been too cold. Add to that the time advantage by pumping denser fuel.

    I would not like to see the championship change hands on the back of this, but what goes around comes around, and it would ironic if a Ferrari driver were to lose the drivers championship due to the stewards/FIAt.

    You must get long odds on Max taking the title from Ferrari when McLaren appeal though!

  14. McLaren as a cheater points fingers at another cheater? Both Alonso and Lewis should have been disqualified for McLaren Spy Scandal in the first place. They benefitted from some Ferrari technology at the beginning of the year.

    Its nice to see Alonso beaten to 3rd place by a rookie (counting 2nd place as both have 109 pts). Is this the first time a double world champion has been beaten by a rookie team mate? I think so.

    McLaren also had themselevs to blame. There is no such thing as two equal drivers. This cost them their championship. McLaren needs to get rid of Alonso for 2008 otherwise they may have a repeat of the smae situation next year.

  15. another lewis fan
    22nd October 2007, 8:30

    why should hammy and alonso been disqualified there WAS’NT any proof that the car benifited!BMW should be punished simple i’m glad mclaren are appealing it’s not their fault BMW are cheating b…..ds!although it would be a shame for lewis to ch’ship in this way.

  16. Alonso Follower
    22nd October 2007, 12:09

    McLaren also had themselevs to blame. There is no such thing as two equal drivers. This cost them their championship. McLaren needs to get rid of Alonso for 2008 otherwise they may have a repeat of the smae situation next year.

    Why McLaren cannot get rid of Hamilton? Please, reflect your toughts as I think this will explain how far this has gone against Alonso. The rookie against the world champion draws at points, being treated favourably, and everybody celebrates.

    I really want to see Hamilton on its own, see you next year!!!!

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