Nico Rosberg will start the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position after stewards decided to take no further action after investigating his conduct under yellow flags in qualifying.
The championship leader was investigated on Saturday evening for potentially breaching FIA Sporting Code regulations on double yellow flags during his pole lap. After Fernando Alonso spun his McLaren at turn nine, many drivers were forced to back off to avoid collision, but Alonso’s car was cleared by the time Rosberg entered the yellow flag zone.
The stewards opted not to take action after summoning the Mercedes driver to explain his actions. The stewards determined that Rosberg ‘significantly reduced his speed into turn eight’. Rosberg had previously insisted that he had ‘done what he needed to do’ under yellow flag conditions.
The steward’s decision is as follows:
The Stewards, having recieved a report from the Race Director, heard from the driver and team representative and examined video/telemetry evidence, have considered the following matter and determine the following.
Driver: 6 – Nico Rosberg
Competitor: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
Time: 15:54
Session: Qualifying
Fact: Failing to slow for yellow flags
Offence: Alleged breach of Appendix H Article 2.4.5.1 b) of the FIA International Sporting Code
Decision: No further action
Reason: The telemetry demonstrated that the driver reduced speed significantly into turn 8.
2016 Hungarian Grand Prix
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Stubborn Swiss (@stubbornswiss)
23rd July 2016, 19:40
Yeah……..its just a joke, really!
Rick (@)
23rd July 2016, 21:11
Indeed. I think they just want a battle in the race and not Lewis walking away with victory. I was watching the live timing as my tv recording stopped due to the extra time, so the last 3,5 minutes I just looked at the timing sheets and as soon as I saw yellow flags waved, Hamilton, Ricciardo and everyone else was 6-7 seconds slower in sector 2! No way Rosberg could’ve backed off even half of that and still manage pole position.
This is almost as bad as the Austria Schumi-Barrichello team orders years ago, almost.
sunny stivala
23rd July 2016, 21:21
If Rosberg hadn’t lifted his pole time would have been much better.
Sasquatsch (@sasquatsch)
23rd July 2016, 21:36
Yes. 0.1 seconds according to Hamilton. That’s what Rosberg slowed in that corner and is significant enough according to the stewards.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd July 2016, 23:16
@stubbornswiss @addvariety @sasquatsch Looking at the onboard camera from Rosberg’s car you can see he only had the yellow flag warning on his steering wheel for a very brief amount of time, and during that time he clearly backed off.
It was clear in Austria just two races ago the stewards do penalise drivers for going quicker than what they deem is acceptable through yellow flag areas:
https://www.racefans.net/2016/07/02/hulkenberg-escapes-penalty/
It may be the case that they are generally too lenient on this type of call, but I don’t agree Rosberg’s treatment is inconsistent with what we’ve seen before.
nase
24th July 2016, 9:59
@keithcollantine
Thank you for being one of the (very, very) few who talk sense in this matter.
I agree that the incident has very probably cost Hamilton pole position, but that wasn’t anybody’s fault, just bad luck with the timing of Alonso’s spin. Too many people struggle to separate this (un)lucky coincidence from something that would’ve been punishable.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th July 2016, 10:50
As Keith mentions, while we all might feel that what the FIA expects of the drivers currently under yellow flags and/or double waved yellow is a bit of a farce (far from slowing to a snails crawl) they are fairly consitent in checking whether a driver slowed down significantly.
Rosberg clearly did slow down a lot where he had the flags, he just was lucky not to be in that part of the track for too long.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th July 2016, 12:46
I think LH claiming it only cost him .1 seconds is disingenuous because if that was truly the case NR would have indeed been penalized. The stewards investigated and found NR had lifted ‘significantly’ which to me can’t simply mean .1 seconds.
tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
23rd July 2016, 19:41
Well that’s okay then, we now know that double yellows means try for a purple sector if you’re confident there will be no problem. Madness.
erikje
23rd July 2016, 21:00
Good to know for the relatives of Bianchi. They could use this approach in the courtroom.
Bianchi did obvious nothing wrong as prooved by ROS now.
sunny stivala
23rd July 2016, 21:30
Alonso’s car was cleared by the time Rosberg entered the yellow flag zone.
Bianchi wasn’t prepared to stop when he entered double yellow zone with crane still trying to remove Suttel’s car.
N
23rd July 2016, 22:20
Rosberg doesn’t know what is ahead, all he knows is that its double yellows.
This is precisely what lead to Bianchi’s accident because drivers are not deterred from backing right off when theres double yellows because they know they can get away with a slight lift. Drivers have this mind set because the rule is not enforced and today was a perfect opportunity for the FIA to stop this practice of barely lifting in potentially dangerous conditions.
RP (@slotopen)
24th July 2016, 1:27
Exactly. So he saw Alonso driving off. So it is safe to assume there is only 1 car in every yellow sector? Assume no marshal is darting out to collect debris?
No way he was prepared to stop. It may be consistent, but it ain’t right.
N
23rd July 2016, 19:42
The bar has been set.
kotrba
23rd July 2016, 19:43
So from now on… Being 0.1 of sec. from your best time in particular yellow section is slowing enought in double-waved yellows? Ok, pretty dangerous for marshalls/ other drivers, but the message has been sent to the other drivers, and make no mistake – they will use this “opportunity” to gain as much time as possible whenever they can.
Ed Marques (@edmarques)
23rd July 2016, 19:44
FIA is pathetic.
Acording to them Jules was at fault on his accident for not slowing down properly on yellow flags… But apparently it is OK doing that now..
Tiomkin
23rd July 2016, 19:48
….If your name is Rosberg. They should just make him a steward as he seems to have rules altered to suit his style. He can do no wrong.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th July 2016, 10:53
This has nothing to do with Rosberg Tiomkin.
But I do think that @edmarques has a valid point about the inconsistency between having generally allowed drivers to “just slow down significantly compared to a clean run” instead of requiring them to actually slow down to a stroll and then claiming that somehow Bianchi was to blame himself for doing exactly that
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
23rd July 2016, 19:47
If the other drivers who are being investigated for being outside 107% in Q1 get penalties then this will prove that the stewards are drunk. How Rosberg didn’t get a penalty baffles me. So apparently now it’s OK to set purple sectors in double yellows?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
23rd July 2016, 19:48
For all it’s worth, and regardless of the ridiculousness of the stewards’ decision, it’s good that they kept their consistency.
It’s the wrong kind of consistency, though. Getting it wrong every time is far from acceptable. The rule needs to be clarified, as this things have to be either black or white. A reaction to double waved yellows should not be evident only using telemetry, it should be easy to see with the naked eye. It should be a clear, decisive action to slow down, properly.
N
23rd July 2016, 19:50
A couple of years ago marshal lost his life in Canada because they where trying to recover a car while working in close proximity to cranes. The FIA have just made an open statement to all marshals and to the world that the drivers can now race on the limit while they’re on track trying to do their job. As long as they show they lose half of a fraction of a blink of an eye.
F1, you disgust me.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
23rd July 2016, 21:37
The incident with the marshall in Canada was a tragic one, and was AFTER the race concluded, it had nothing to do with recovering a vehicle under race conditions.
You are clearly mixing things up and coming to wrong conclusions.
N
23rd July 2016, 21:55
No, absolutely not, on the contrary, i’m saying the marshals jobs is dangerous enough on its own even when there’s no cars on track, and now the FIA have sent out a message to all concerned, that while you’re doing a job which is already potentially lethal, the drivers can now – to all intents and purposes – ignore what Yellow flags are there for, and that is to protect people on circuit.
As long as you can prove you’ve blipped the throttle and lost all but the fraction of the blink of an eye, you’ll be ok.
It’s a disgusting position to have taken after they could have used this is a perfect opportunity to show drivers that Double Yellows means people/cranes on track with potential serious danger, be prepared to stop.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
23rd July 2016, 22:29
Ok I misunderstood your first comment, my bad.
But I still think that Rosberg did not do a mistake. He lifted through T8 and then the Yellow was lifted, also when he arrived to the double yellow beforehand, Alonso was already driving slowly on the track again for quite some time so there was no need for showing a double-yellow in my opinion.
Yes it was maybe only a slight lift, but according to AMuS (German Car magazine) the telemetry showed he was going 20km/h slower through T8 than his previous lap, on a track which was getting better all the time, so in my opinion it was legal.
Andrew
24th July 2016, 4:46
Then actually do something and stop following, watching, supporting or in any way being involved in FIA activities. But like most Internet ‘experts’ whining and pontificating will be it and you’ll keep right on. Grow a pair and actually follow through with your disgust and make a better product.
Joao Pitol (@)
23rd July 2016, 20:03
Double yellow should take 2-3 seconds off you lap at least. Eveyone but Rosberg crawled past Alonso in that corner while Rosberg zig zagged his way through.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
23rd July 2016, 21:40
2-3 seconds to what? You cannot quantify a reduction in speed only with specifying the time delta.
The yellow flag zone was also lifted while he was driving through the marshalling sector, so Rosberg did the correct thing and lifted sufficiently.
Joao Pitol (@)
23rd July 2016, 22:59
You know what I mean no reason to make me look bad
Michael Brown (@)
24th July 2016, 0:31
He’s making your argument look bad.
Wooolfy
23rd July 2016, 20:04
This decision by the stewards goes against all safety standards set in the sport. He did reduce speed significantly into turn 8 but accelerated through the rest of the corner under double yellows. This a ridiculous decision and flys in the faces of all those who remember Jules Bianchi. What a shame! And what’s worse, is the dangerous precedence it sets for the future. The stewards can only be blind, I’m totally disappointed in the outcome.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 20:04
To be fair to Rosberg:
1. He did slow more than usual in the turn where the yellows were shown. Yes he went purple, but all the stewards really are worried about is the short “marshalling sector” – which he did lift off through – not the entirety of sector 2.
2. The incident zone was completely clear as he passed through it, in fact Rosberg only caught up to Alonso two corners later. It was very marginal but Rosberg didn’t do anything wrong. He lifted when he saw the yellows, despite the track being already cleared.
It’s not like he flew through that section of track with Alonso’s stationary car still there. The incident had been cleared, and he did lift for the yellows (as seen by his speed being lower through T8), so I don’t see how he did anything wrong. Of course it’s always pretty iffy when someone sets a purple under yellows, but the danger had already been cleared, and there was still a lift (albeit small) to acknowledge the yellows. I know it’s fun to paint Rosberg as the villain and stuff, but in this situation he played it right. He covered himself through the yellow flag and still put in a stellar lap to get pole.
If anything, all this does is set us up for an even more exciting battle tomorrow, which – as a neutral fan – I am extremely looking forward to.
mantresx (@mantresx)
23rd July 2016, 20:11
I think most people don’t have a problem with Rosberg, it’s with the FIA and the ridiculous rules (or lack of) that allow a driver to still go very quick when they shouldn’t.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
23rd July 2016, 20:17
I think most people do not realize what the rule clearly says, Rosberg, as mentioned above, did everything correctly.
In my opinion it should rather be debated why there still was a double yellow, when it was clear that nothing was blocking the track, and why there was no white flag, because Alonso was very slow through sector 2.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 20:18
Yeah I completely agree with that. Alonso had been on his way for at least 5 seconds, the corner should have been green by that point, not still double yellow.
Demonlord
23rd July 2016, 20:35
Good point. The danger (stationary car on track) had cleared, so the double yellow should not have been waving in the first place .. and the pole lap video did show Rosberg lifted off through the corner/turn.
Tiomkin
23rd July 2016, 22:06
So by your reasoning it is up to the drivers to decide when it is safe? So if a driver ‘thinks’ the hazard has gone they can race through yellows and kill somebody around the corner.
What is the point of waving flags (any colour) if they can ignored by the driver?
Sorry, if they can be ignored by Rosberg. Everyone else reacts to waved flags.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 22:11
@Tiomkin
No, I never even inferred that to be the case. He could see, as we can on the onboard camera, that there was no hazard in T9, nor was there a yellow flag. He slowed for the flag that was displayed as he drove by. That is a fact.
“What is the point of waving flags (any colour) if they can ignored by the driver?
Sorry, if they can be ignored by Rosberg. Everyone else reacts to waved flags.”
What people fail to mention is the fact that Vettel also went fast through that section, shown by the onboard camera, possibly even faster than Nico. But because he didn’t take pole, nobody cares about that…
DaveF1 (@davef1)
23rd July 2016, 22:07
‘I think most people don’t have a problem with Rosberg’
Good joke mate.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th July 2016, 10:57
Sadly I have seen many online, and even here who DO mention that “Rosberg again getting away with something” @mantresx.
N
23rd July 2016, 20:17
“1. He did slow more than usual in the turn where the yellows were shown.”
No, he had a minor lift at the first set of Yellows, not at the second set that was beyond the left hand corner, and there was no green flags to tell him it was clear, and besides, he accelerated into the Yellow flag zone out of the first chicane, knowing the rule only meant that he would have to very slightly lift to show he saw the flags. Which is the worst part of all this, Rosberg knew the stewards wouldn’t do anything if he showed a lift, rather than doing what everyone else did and completely get out of your lap incase theres people or cranes on track. (as per the actual wording of the double yellow rule)
“2. The incident zone was completely clear as he passed through it”
Again, Rosberg wasn’t to know this, you cannot use hindsight, that is incredibly wreckless to say ‘well it was ok in the end, so…’
After Bianci’s death, the FIA’s investigation said that he did no slow sufficiently for the yellow flag zone and the track conditions. Given that today they were on slicks on a wet/dry track (infact, the cause of the actual spin from Alonso in the first place) You’d think they’d have used a bit of common sense and set a strong precedent today so that driver’s don’t think they can just get away with losing 0.1 of a second while double yellows are out.
Todays is a very bad day in this sport.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 21:24
1. The second yellow actually cancelled as he went through it (between T8 and T9). His lift through T8 was sufficient to show he was slowing for the danger, but as the yellow cancelled while he drove through it, there is no need to slow further. Just because others had to abandon their laps doesn’t mean he had to, as the danger had already resolved when he arrived.
2. Watching the onboard video you can see that there is both a good amount of visibility across the turn, and a yellow flag that cancels as he actually passes through it. It has nothing to do with hindsight, he saw as he was driving (both from flags and from seeing with his eyes what was happening on track) that there was no danger, so he continued accordingly.
I fully understand and appreciate the argument that he should’ve slowed sufficiently under yellows. Indeed if he had sped under yellows I’d have the same views, but in this case the incident was clear before he arrived, and therefore didn’t have to slow as much as Hamilton etc did.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th July 2016, 13:28
@N You don’t know what Nico was likely made aware of by radio…no stalled car, no marshals on the track, no extraction equipment. You are full of assumptions to suit your argument.
erikje
23rd July 2016, 21:02
All true.. but.. the problem is ROsberg cound not know all these points and should react to a double yellow flag. If not every accident is on his and the FIAA conto.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 21:08
But the thing is, he *did* react. He didn’t abort his lap like Hamilton, no, but he lifted off when he saw the yellow, and when he saw the track was clear he continued and got pole. He was lucky where he was on track, and that the yellow cleared as he drove through it, but he did what he needed to: he lifted in the 200m marshal sector and got back on it when he saw the track was clear. The rules don’t say “each driver must abandon their lap when they come upon a yellow/double yellow”… He reduced his speed in the section of track the yellow was in and he didn’t overtake, so I’m not really sure as to which rule he has apparently broken.
Fireway Lee
24th July 2016, 8:31
“he saw the track was clear “?
Is he God?HOW could he know where is the accident?
He only knew there’s a double yellow，cars and peoples on track.
Sasquatsch (@sasquatsch)
23rd July 2016, 21:43
Apparently slowing just 0.1 seconds down in turn 8 is significant enough for you. It’s not for me.
There were double yellow flags waved, so he should have slowed down considerably. Prepared for an immediate stop according to the rules. And only should have regained speed when he encountered green flags and not before. Whether Alonso was there or not doesn’t matter. Those are the rules and they were not enforced. .1 seconds is not significantly. A second or more like Hamilton and Ricciardo slowed should be closer to it.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 22:07
I honestly do understand what you mean, but as someone who races I can tell that Rosberg was being cautious through T8. Sure he wasn’t going “a second or more” slower as you say, but there was a definite amount of caution shown by Rosberg through T8 until the yellow flag was brought in just before T9. The amount of time he lost isn’t wholly relevant; It’s not really about the time penalty he gave himself, it’s about how cautious he was through the corner. Put it this way: 0.1 lost down halfway down a straight is a much more obvious and audible lift than a lift of the same size going into a medium-speed corner (in Rosberg’s case). He did lift, that is fact, but he was fortunate as to where he was on the track that he didn’t lose more time.
That’s just my opinion of course, and I completely respect the viewpoint that it was unsafe. If Alonso had been anywhere in the vicinity, and if the yellow hadn’t been called in as Rosberg drove through T8/9 then I’d feel the same. It’s a very marginal incident, but I think this time Rosberg was *just* within the rules.
Either way, it’s got me talking about F1 again! :)
BasCB (@bascb)
24th July 2016, 10:58
Well said, good attempt at explaining what was going on there @f1alex
Robbie (@robbie)
24th July 2016, 13:24
I’d like to know too…is it anyone other than LH that has claimed the lift was only for .1 seconds? I think if that was a fact indeed NR might have been penalized. However, if in fact .1 seconds for one corner is accurate in this case and is ‘significant’ by the stewards definition, then there’s the answer LH is looking for. Let’s also remember no stalled car, no people on the track, no extraction equipment, FA had moved along.
Grant
23rd July 2016, 20:11
“significantly reduced his speed into turn eight”
Is the rule about a sector or a corner?
Many drivers must be kicking themselves for all opportunities missed in the past.
f1alex (@f1alex)
23rd July 2016, 21:11
I am pretty sure the rule applies only to each marshalling sector (i.e roughly each corner). If the driver has reduced speed during the ~200m section where the flag is displayed, then it doesn’t matter what they do over the rest of the lap.
Grant
24th July 2016, 10:01
@f1alex
So now it’s 200m?
manas
23rd July 2016, 20:24
Its Rosberg,he can do anything he wants.FIA will allow anything if Rosberg does,not for any other drivers.purple under double yellow wow fantastic!!Hopefully Hamilton and Ricardo and may be verstappen and vettel will be giving that penalty tommarow.
mystic one (@mysticus)
23rd July 2016, 20:55
If it is Ham, they will penalize him, and make up a rule after the race….
If it is Ros, they will clear him of wrong doing, but then they will put up a tougher rule clarification next race…
Grant
24th July 2016, 10:03
Double Standards.
F1 stewards have always been a joke when Lewis is involved.
He’s still a 3 x World Champion though.
John H (@john-h)
23rd July 2016, 20:34
Well, I think it’s a poor decision and sets a bad precedent going forwards for incidents under double waved yellows.
I’m also disappointed in some of the comments on F1F saying it’s ‘Hamilton fanboys’ saying Rosberg should be penalised. To do so is highly patronising to those that can see the wider picture and realise what kind of precedent this now sets.
Sasquatsch (@sasquatsch)
23rd July 2016, 21:46
This precedent was set years before. Double yellow flags were never serious enforced (just lifting slightly is enough) and led to the death of Bianchi imho. Because he just lifted a little under double yellow flags.
Thomas Westergaard (@t-wester)
23rd July 2016, 21:51
Yeah precedent was already in place, Hulkenberg had a pb in Austria under double yellows. but telemetry showed he slowed so no action, that it took 3 hours to decide is nonsense though.
Hyoko
23rd July 2016, 22:15
Honest-to-goodness, had Mr. Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton managed a 2-tenths faster lap and the pole in spite of the stewards’ decision, would we be having this argument?
And what are we arguing about? Safety, rules, consistency, the Bianchi accident? Really?
I leave the answers and the conclusion as an exercise for the readers
John H (@john-h)
23rd July 2016, 22:27
Safety.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th July 2016, 12:56
Yeah, safety for sure, and they had a dry track that was only providing faster and faster times, no driver or marshall or tractor on the track, Alonso having already moved along on his own. When it was dangerous they were red flagging the sessions, so can anyone really claim F1 is dropping the ball on safety? I think not. The red flags have been instantly forgotten by those convinced LH was robbed.
NeoGalaxy (@neogalaxy)
23rd July 2016, 20:40
After watching the qualifying session again all I can say is that the yellow flags were lifted before Rosberg got to turn 9. He slowed at turn 8, then the yellow flags were up, you can see on the right as the marshals are removing the flags as Rosberg was passing there. For Hamilton thou… nothing could be done since he was quite close to the event, and by event I mean Alonson’s mistake. Same for Ricciardo. Also Vettel was slowed by Button, while Vettel didn’t do the same to Rosberg. All in all… there’s events and events. Let’s see the race now :P
erikje
23rd July 2016, 21:04
Yellow is Yellow.. there are no other colors available for these kind of accidents. Single Yellow, you should lift and double yellow.. In fact it was Double yellow. A flashing yellow lihgt followed by two waving yellow flags.
official rules:
Two waved yellows at the same post indicates great danger ahead. Drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop; no overtaking is permitted unless a driver is lapped.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th July 2016, 11:00
As soon as the yellows are lifted, the drivers can go as fast as they want again @erikje
Mashiat (@mashiat)
23rd July 2016, 21:10
So British race stewards want Rosberg to win. Yeah right…
petebaldwin (@)
23rd July 2016, 21:16
I was more surprised when I saw the sun come up this morning….
What they are saying is that Hamilton and the rest who backed off shouldn’t have lifted as much as they did. They should have made a token gesture and lifted slightly whilst taking the chance that the track would be clear.
We waste our time talking about Halos and safety car starts – flooring it past yellow flags is OK though. Remind me what the FIA accused Jules of again?
WillOfTheSupremo
23rd July 2016, 21:21
Sigh. Isn’t here the point? Nico actually *lifted* on turn 8 entry! And Alonso wasn’t even stationary by that point, and the yellow flags didn’t affected the entirety of the 2nd sector, just the turns 8-9 complex.
petebaldwin (@)
23rd July 2016, 21:30
From the official F1 site:
Yellow flag
Indicates danger, such as a stranded car, ahead. A single waved yellow flag warns drivers to slow down, while two waved yellow flags at the same post means that drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary. Overtaking is prohibited
Nico passed double waved yellows. Are you telling me that he was prepared to stop if necessary? The others were. Was Nico? It doesn’t matter if the track was clear or not – he passed double yellows and didn’t follow the rules!
I’m not backing one driver over the other – I think Hamilton’s “lap record” at Silverstone should have been cancelled as he went off the track. I just want the rules to be applied consistently so that I have a clue what I am watching. Should they only apply the rules on fuel flow some of the time? Or the weight of the cars? Or can the drivers use Bridgestone tyres some of the time? How about if they sometimes don’t start on the tyres they used in Q2? Or if for 1 race, Ferrari used a V12?
WillOfTheSupremo
23rd July 2016, 23:24
“Nico passed double waved yellows. Are you telling me that he was prepared to stop if necessary? The others were. Was Nico? It doesn’t matter if the track was clear or not – he passed double yellows and didn’t follow the rules!”
Hmm. Now here’s a fair point i could get behind. Rules are rules, right? Not backing either driver, just trying to get a rational view of the subject.
On the other hand… sure rules are rule, but we all know the F1 rules are filled with grey areas. What happens if you step into them? Guess it was one of these moves/actions right on the limit of being considered acceptable or not. Oh well. It’s late, i’m off to bed. Just hoping tomorrow’s race will be an exciting an relatively clean one, without nitpicking. Night.
NeoGalaxy (@neogalaxy)
23rd July 2016, 22:17
Yes indeed, Rosberg was affected only at turn 8 by the yellow flags since at turn 9 the flags were no longer active. I don’t understand why people can’t replay the lap and see that the flags are no longer active (showed) at turn 9. Also Rosberg’s engineers never bothered to tell him about Alonso’s mistake, since it was cleared quite fast. Rosberg’s advantage was that he could see the track before him and there was no danger there. What people don’t seem to understand is that Rosberg was not showed 2 consecutive flags, he was showed just one time at turn 8 on the right. At turn 9, nothing was showed… that’s like 10 seconds later. 10 seconds that made the difference. Why Hamilton was showed the double flags for like the whole sector two which was around 25 seconds till he… saw Alonso anyway.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th July 2016, 11:05
This had nothing at all to do with Rosberg @petebaldwin. Rosberg clearly slowed down a lot in T8 where the flags were, but they were lifted before he got to T9 and got back on the gas.
While I agree with you when you mention that the FIA is not enforcing anything close to “slowing down enough to be prepared to stop immediately”, that precedent was set years ago. That was actually one of the reasons why people were so upset about the Bianchi incident report blaming him for not slowing down more than he did, because the FIA has clearly established that they haven’t expected more than a significant lift for the last decade.
We have seen this applied several times in the past, and the FIA is now being consistent with previous cases.
Ruben
23rd July 2016, 21:34
So with all the talk about safety and head protection after Jules accident they ignored the biggest opportunity to stamp their authority and penalize a driver for ignoring yellow flags like they thought Jules did.
But no. FIA are going to have to fill this with even more rules to cover themselves and that alienates the casual viewer further.
FIA: Failure In Abundance.
JammyB
23rd July 2016, 21:35
Didn’t the FIA try blaming Jules’s crash on basically the exact same thing Rosberg did when taken to court, but when they’re not being held accountable for something it’s 100% fine..?
ColdFly F1 (@)
23rd July 2016, 21:49
I understand why most people fight for the strict adherence to the rules and want Rosberg’s time to be scrapped.
These are the same people who want Lewis’s Q2 time be scrapped because he exceeded track limits.
And both RBR drivers excluded because they missed the 107%.
Mehtab Ahmed (@t4bb3)
23rd July 2016, 21:55
And the next moment they all complain that the stewards are handing too many penalties out and should be less strict on the drivers and let the racing unfold.
N
23rd July 2016, 22:06
“Two flags waved simultaneously denotes a hazard that wholly or partly blocks the racing surface. This informs the driver that there may be marshals on the track and to prepare to stop, if necessary.”
roodda (@roodda)
23rd July 2016, 22:13
Alonso’s car was not at turn 8 by the time Rosberg arrived, which is lucky for him, but that’s what happened
Why yellows were being waved when no car was there, i don’t know
Rosberg lifted enough through the corner anyway. You can still lift through a corner and set a purple, particularly when the track was evolving as much as it was in a drying session
Just trying to think what the comments would say if this was Hamilton and not Rosberg
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
23rd July 2016, 22:20
Lol, purple sector under double yellows.
But on replay I saw with naked eye a massive lift, then flags were gonne and boom back on it.
So correct. Other drivers were correct to slow down a lot because there were.double yellows active.
So Nico was just lucky. If he wouls have arrived one second earlier he wouldnt get pole.. Either lifting one second longer or getting a penalty.
Josh (@joshdejager)
23rd July 2016, 22:37
Wow, what a joke.
Have they forgotten that just three weeks ago they handed out a 3-place grid penalty to Palmer, Haryanto and Nasr in Austria for failing to slow down while Sainz was miles off the track and racing line. The fact that the situation was correctly judged as safe by the three drivers did not count then, as the explanation read:
“Notwithstanding the fact the driver could see the disabled Car 55 on the side of the track, the regulations are clear that on display of double yellow flags a significant reduction in speed must be made. This did not happen.”
So, in the world of the stewards 0,1 seconds is a significant reduction in speed. As long as your name is Rosberg and the FIA don’t want a one-horse race for the WDC, that is.
The fact that Rosberg jugded the situation as safe doesn’t matter one bit. Yellow, and especially double yellow as in this case, means slow down and be careful. Alonso might have been gone already, but there could still be a marshall on the track.
Next time the police catches me when I fail to stop for a red light I’ll tell them that I thought the situation was perfectly safe, and that in fact, I lifted! If I still get a ticket I’ll them that I learned it from a company which cares a great deal about road safety..
TdM (@tdm)
23rd July 2016, 23:30
News headline: “Rosberg to become top motoring conviction lawyer #ILifted”
Philip (@philipgb)
23rd July 2016, 23:07
If only Hamilton had known the rule was this lenient back at Monaco 2014.
neil day (@audiduck)
23rd July 2016, 23:57
Well done Lewis and Daniel, slowing down when Alonso was stranded was the absolutely right thing to do, Nico did the right thing by the letter if the law, BUT not by the sportmanship rules, he could have come across anything, debris in the road , a steward, a lunatic spectator ? But fair play he got pole, but it’s a dirty way to get it, shame.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th July 2016, 13:07
Utter nonsense. Of course there’s no chance in your mind that the team told him all was clear…no stalled (stranded as you call it) car, no individuals on the track, no tractors, Alonso had moved along. If lifting to the stewards satisfaction at turn 8 is ‘dirty’ then methinks this is just more about you being on the anti-Nico bandwagon than anything.
Meanonsunday
24th July 2016, 0:00
Slowing at a single point in the corner is irrelevant. Rosberg just changed his corner strategy and got on the gas earlier in the corner; that is the only way he would not have lost significant time. The end result is he is coming out of the turn just as fast and could not have reacted in time if there was some danger. What he did was clearly not consistent with the rules and is the same reckless attitude that led to the death of Bianchi.
Now maybe he will say that the team was on the radio telling him it was clear, but if FIA actually cares about safety they will take action in future to say that double yellow will invalidate lap times of all cars that are in that zone. That will remove the incentive for drivers to gamble with their and other people’s lives. F1 drivers may be risk takers but when every driver except Rosberg slowed significantly that tells us that he is so blinded by the desire to win that he is not thinking clearly.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
24th July 2016, 1:29
I think something been ignored when looking just at how much Rosberg improved is track evolution.
The track was drying & getting faster & in these kinds of circumstances its always last car across the line that tends to find the most gains. On a consistent track Nico’s lift may well have normally resulted in a larger time loss compared to his previous best, However on an ever improving circuit its probable that gains made elsewhere had a much larger impact on the lap than the 1-2 corners where he lifted off.
Look at Lewis in Q2 for an example, He made a mistake at turn 1 that cost him probably 2 seconds yet the track evolution around the rest of the circuit still allowed him to find the time he needed to just make Q3. Under normal conditions with a consistent track he’d have almost certainly not made it into Q3 as there wouldn’t be the time to find round the rest of the track.
I’d also point out that this has been the rule for years & that Rosberg been allowed to keep his time is completely consistent with past rulings going back years. As was mentioned on Sky Mika Hakkinen used to raise his arm out the cockpit to acknowledge that he’d seen the yellows & used to have a small lift just as Nico did today.
It’s fair to argue that drivers should take more notice of double yellow’s & should probably slow more, However given past precedent & the general understanding of the regulation (Show you have lifted in that specific timing loop & not the whole sector) how this sort of thing tends to be handled the stewards today were 100% consistent with past decisions & therefore made the correct call.
Robbie (@robbie)
24th July 2016, 13:17
Well said. I think the bigger crime a driver could commit in the stewards eyes is simply ignoring a yellow completely. Any acknowledgement of a yellow is better than ‘taking the law into one’s own hands’. And in this case there was not even a stranded car let alone marshals and extraction equipment out on the track. FA had moved along on his own. And after stopping sessions for safety reasons several times, it’s hard to argue they threw caution to the wind yesterday or set some kind of bad precedent by not penalizing Nico.
Israel
24th July 2016, 1:49
What frustrates me and many others is that it’s not really fair to take pole position in this way. It’s according to the rules. But it’s not fair.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
24th July 2016, 1:57
I have to say that watching Rosberg slicing through traffic in sector 3 on his pole lap was the highlight of qualifying for me this season, and it has been a very entertaining year as far as qualifying sessions go.
PJA (@pja)
25th July 2016, 18:37
When I watched it live I thought Alonso must have moved and the double yellow flags ended by the time Rosberg got to that section of the track for him to set a faster time, and as the TV coverage was running late because of the delays they didn’t have time to analyse it.
When I read later that Rosberg was being investigated by the stewards I thought it would be a certain penalty, just as when you see a driver is being investigated for speeding in the pitlane during the race, I thought there was no way he could have slowed down enough under double waved yellows and still set a fast enough time to get pole.
So I was surprised the stewards decided not to take any further action.
I know the stewards have a lot more information available to them, but given what double yellow flags mean – slow down and be prepared to stop I don’t see how Rosberg was not penalised considering the need for safety.
At the very least the FIA need to clarify the rules about how much a driver should slow down when there are yellow flags, as at the moment the message to drivers is that they only need to lift off slightly and loose a couple of tenths.