F1 links: Ecclestone slams Vettel penalty

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Ecclestone Believes Vettel Penalty Unjust

Bernie Ecclestone on Vettel's penalty: "It was wrong. The poor guy is punished for an accident. He lost third place. If the rule is that you get punished for a collision with another driver, then soon we will have no more fights. We want to see more wheel-to-wheel (duels), not less."

Alonso: McLaren has lied before

"It's not the first time they go to see the stewards. It's not the first time they lie to the stewards and, sooner or later, they had to be punished. Of course there I lost the championship by a point and in Hungary they played a bad trick on me."

James Allen's Friday form guide

"The data shows that this is one of the best tracks of the season on which to use KERS, as it has two long straights and the 6.6s of power boost has a big effect on lap time here."

McLaren could face further sanctions

FIA spokesman: "We recognise Lewis's efforts to set the record straight today. It would appear that he was put in an impossible position.

Max Mosley launches libel action against News of the World | Media

Formula one head Max Mosley has launched a libel action against the News of the World after winning his high court privacy case against the tabloid over its allegations he was involved in a "sick Nazi orgy".

Barrichello to get five-place grid penaly

Rubens Barrichello will be given a five-place grid penalty at the Malaysian Grand Prix after needing a gearbox change following Friday's practice.

Kimi and the Kers curse

"Ferrari said it was neither the result of the in-built fire extinguisher exploding at will nor a cockpit fire. The team revealed the smoke was caused by a problem with their battery-operated Kers system, which had short-circuited in the hot and humid conditions enveloping the track."

OfficialBrawnGP YouTube Channel

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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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17 comments on “F1 links: Ecclestone slams Vettel penalty”

  1. Did Bernie say something logical!? I cant believe it!

    Tough break for Rubens. Looks like he’ll have to get on the front row if he wants a real good shot at the podium/win. he able to run completive at Melbourne even with front wing problems after the bad start.

  2. I suppose Bernie had a momentary lapse of unlogical thinking.

    1. maybe the nurse snuck in some medication into his prune juice.

  3. Rubens would only need 5 more people penalized to get pole position. I wouldn’t rule it out.

    1. great idea! now i know what to pray for tonight, thanks!

  4. I was going to ask if I can change my predictions for the race in the light of rubens gear change….but it probably won’t make a difference, just like in Australia when he didn’t get off the line but still managed to get 2nd!

    Isn’t what Alonso saying against the parting contract everyone thought he was subject to with McLaren? i.e. not saying anything that will embaress or hurt their image? Not that I care, much.

    1. I reckon he can make up ground, so long as he qualifies well, and maybe gets a little rain.

  5. Aaron Shearer
    4th April 2009, 0:19

    I’m shocked Ecclestone actually agrees with people that the penalty was unfair. As for Rubens penalty I’m sure he’ll be able to fight his way forward. Let’s hope he doesn’t ruin anymore front wings. If it does rain I’m sure he will make an excellent job. Just look at Silverstone last year, not a single spin.

    1. I’m not so shocked – Ecclestone has only had nice things to say about Vettel, and I think he has certain ‘pets’ in his world-travelling-circus (meant in the best possible way) that he seems to favour every now and again.

      Of course, I could be completely wrong, but everytime I’ve read Ecclestone and Vettel in the same article, it’s usually of praise and slight favourtism?

      (Just in case this gets misinterpreted, I disagreed with the penalty, too!)

  6. Am I the only one who thinks that Kubica, not Vettel, is at fault for the incident? He was the one who came down on Vettel.

    1. No you’re not.

      I thought Kubica had failed to give him enough space to take the corner & left him no-where to go other than into the side of Kubica’s car.

      I’d still class it as a racing incident though and wouldn’t have penalised either of them.

  7. Ecclestone’s comments, are about right , the incident was a ‘racing’ incident, no more, and the penalty of losing two solid podium places was punishment enough. To expect two guys, at this level, not to fight for position is ridiculous, after all the rulebook was torn up to create these moments, and rid us of the dreary processions where a ‘race’ was decided in the pitlane.

  8. Alonso would appear to never miss an opportunity to show his bottom lip, I presume somebody in the media contacted him for a comment, and he did’nt let them down, probably just needs reminding that he had a few volatile paragraphs on his laptop, that he was’nt averse to using to his advantage!

  9. > Max Mosley launches libel action against News of the World | Media

    I suppose it was a bit much to hope he’d follow Hamilton’s example and actually, you know, *apologise* for being such a dick…

  10. Bigbadderboom
    4th April 2009, 10:05

    I’ve woken in a parallel univeres……Bernie making sense!!!! whatever next!

  11. Alonso should not crticize or talk any more about McLaren or Lewis. It is very ungentlemanly on his part to do this.
    He has to be careful with the Spanish press, they are very gossipy and sensacionalist – always looking for some bad words to blow them out of proportion and create a scandal.
    But above all, it is the fault of Alonso. He looks like a little child saying things like that. He should have some respect for the team that hired him and paid him very well.

    1. As opposed to those paragons of virtue – the British Press???

      And please explain your logic as to why Alonso should have some respect for McLaren? Because it seems as though you’re saying because they paid him well he should put up and shut up.

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