Renault criticizes Hamilton’s zigzags

This race Sunday saw the rise of Red Bull, securing a double on the podium (1st-2nd). The qualifying trap closed on top teams like Ferrari and McLaren.

Hamilton, the driver for the English team based in Woking, still tried to defy the odds, starting at the back of the grid (20th), he quickly moved up towards the Top 10.

The Brit found himself behind Renault’s “rookie,” Vitaly Petrov; this opposition was one of the highlights of the race, featuring a battle between talented and daring young men.

Thus, at the entrance of the last corner leading onto the main straight, Hamilton dives to the inside, pushing Petrov to the outside.

Through good traction, the Russian driver manages to follow the McLaren closely.

Faced with the two single-seaters, the long straight line of 2.41 km unfolds, and with the slipstream effect, the Renault tries to overtake.

Hamilton doesn’t let himself be overtaken, he moves over and defends his position once, then a second time.

In the face of Petrov’s perseverance, he had to make a third swerve to contain him. At the end of the straight line, the die was cast and the McLaren maintained its advantage.

In light of the regulation that allows only one defensive maneuver, Hamilton received an official warning. However, the driver with the yellow helmet can thank the supervisor of the marshals for this GP, namely Johnny Herbert (former driver for Lotus, Sauber, Stewart…).

Indeed, since the beginning of the season, a former driver supervises the marshals at each race. This allows for a more accurate assessment of situations.

With the old system, Hamilton would have certainly received the usual penalty, namely a pit-stop penalty or a drive-through.

At the end of the race, on the French team’s side, one could sense a form of annoyance.

Eric Boullier, the team director, believes that Lewis Hamilton was in the wrong by zigzagging in response to the attack from his protégé, Vitaly Petrov.

The “team principal” acknowledges that his team complained to the race management:

«We simply shared our views»

Furthermore, he believes that the FIA should have done more than just show a mere black and white flag for unsporting behavior to the former British world champion.

He relies on the regulation and specifies:

Very frankly, the regulations clearly state that you can have only one change of direction, so when you make three in a row, something is wrong… He [Hamilton] received a warning for dangerous driving, but I’m not sure that’s enough. It is clearly written in the texts that you cannot make more than one change of direction, so this is clearly something you should not do.

When asked if Renault wants to go further to obtain clarifications from the FIA, Eric Boullier states:

«No, a warning says that if you do it again, you will be penalized.»

It is worth noting that Lewis Hamilton finished 6th in the race, while Vitaly Petrov had to retire on the 32nd lap due to a defective suspension that could not handle the full fuel load.