Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Sochi, 2018

Hamilton: I don’t get away with making two moves like Vettel

2018 Japanese Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton says he doesn’t understand why some drivers are allowed to make two defensive moves, as he believes Sebastian Vettel did during their fight for position in Russia.

Hamilton claimed Vettel made an “illegal manoeuvre” approaching turn two while he was trying to pass the Ferrari during Sunday’s race. He passed his rival two corners later.

The stewards decided Vettel’s driving “did not constitute two significant changes in direction”, but Hamilton believes the rules were not enforced consistently. “The same rules are not always applied to certain things,” he said today.

“As far as I’m aware when I drive down the straight I’m not allowed to move twice. But there are drivers that do move twice and nothing happens to them. And maybe there are some drivers that move twice and something has happened to them.

“I was really surprised when I watched the replay because it was really clear, the two-step move.”

The International Sporting Code’s section on the rules of overtaking states: “More than one change of direction to defend a position is not permitted.”

FIA race director Charlie Whiting said he reported Vettel’s move to the stewards for them to investigate during the race before Mercedes complained about it.

“How I see it doesn’t really matter, it’s how the stewards see it, of course,” he pointed out following the race on Sunday.

Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Sochi Autodrom, 2018
The stewards ruled Vettel’s move was legal
“I think they felt that in all reality it didn’t constitute two changes of direction which is what the regulations require for a penalty. So I think they took a slightly lenient view on that.

“I think their decision mentioned something that is was one change but with a little hesitation in the middle. We’re more used to seeing a direction change [one] way then a direction change the other way. It was a little new to see that. I think at the time Lewis was a little perturbed by it.”

Hamilton said he was convinced the pair were going to collide at high speed when Vettel covered off the inside of the corner.

“It’s difficult to realise, we were doing two hundred and something miles per hour and things happen so fast at those speeds,” said Hamilton. “I thought we were going to crash.

“I was really shocked that when I pulled out of it I was able to keep the car in one piece and we made it to the second corner and it actually ended up being awesome racing. But I thought in the moment my wing’s definitely going and I might be going in the air.”

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97 comments on “Hamilton: I don’t get away with making two moves like Vettel”

  1. All I could think watching that move is “imagine it was Verstappen who did that move….”

    All hell would break loose.

    1. We dont need to imagine ;)

    2. Penalty points and all… for sure

    3. Verstappen knows the rules and does not move like Vettel did.

      The exact rule is ‘one defensive move on the straight is allowed’ tough the driver has the right to returnd back to the racing line…wich makes it in fact two moves. The defensive move or moving in the braking zone says very little about going into the corner where a driver has the right to choose his line.
      Verstappen has used the grey areas and never got penalised fr moving twice.
      His subtile move in Baku was stretching it, though Ricciardo moved in to late wich both cost them a race… the Fia decided an offcial warning was in place… I felt that was correct… though really different from Vettel…

      If this wasn;t two moves then what is?

      1. His subtle move in Baku

        Heh. Subtle.

        Ricciardo moved in to late wich both cost them a race

        And yet Verstappen moved after him, so who moved too late?

        Please.

    4. Or Vettel could say why wasn’t Hamilton reprimanded for going over the white line when entering the pit lane in Sochi or when in Germany for that matter when he dangerously went from the pit lane back on the track. But we know how it is, Hamilton doesn’t look at the favours he gets all the time. We know the guys, somehow, feels persecuted when in reality he is one of the most graced and favoured drivers in F1 by the FIA. The only reason Seb Vettel and Ferrari did not get a penalty for moving twice (and he did move twice) was because Magnussen did much worse earlier in the race. The stewards realized they had not punished Magnussen (or even investigated him) so they had to let Vettel go. Hamilton complaining about it favours other pilots get that he supposedly doesn’t, that’s rich.

      1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        4th October 2018, 19:41

        @Ben
        Some serious flaws in that argument. The reason Hamilton didn’t get penalised in Germany was because at that particular track the FIA had not stipulated that drivers could not do that. Ergo it was not an illegal move.
        Also without being in the Stewards room you should limit yourself to speculation rather than certainty regarding the Vettel decision. None of us can “know”
        Regarding Hamilton’s experience with the Stewards, have you seen the 2011 season?
        Despite the fact that all drivers think other drivers defensive moves are unfair and Hamilton is no different to Vettel or Verstappen or any of them, a fairer criticism of Hamilton would be to say “You’re 50 points up! Stop being a whiney little *****”
        Perspective please!

    5. I don’t know what you mean? Verstappen always gets away with two moves. It’s his signature move. He’s the reason why everyone else is doing it now, because he keeps getting away with it.

      It’s dangerous to behave unpredictably in the braking zone. It’s just a matter of time until a nasty accident where a car is launched into the air. Only then will they clamp down on this behaviour.

      When Hamilton says ‘there are drivers that do move twice and nothing happens to them’, I guarantee you that Verstappen is one of the drivers he’s referring to. It’s a shame, because I’d be a huge Verstappen fan but can’t support driving like that. Pick a line, stick to it.

  2. I think that Whiting’s earlier quip that the stewards had quite a lenient interpretation of that move was quite honest, and validates what Hamilton is saying. Before we have already seen (think Rosberg in Monaco 2014, and later too “he’s a good guy wouldn’t do that” from stewards) that not everyone is quite judged equally, which is masked by the circumstances never being entirely equal, nor the stewards.

    In the end I wouldn’t really have wanted to see a Vettel penalty, but I do think that he tends to take more risky driving strategies (like Max Verstappen). We can hope that he’s a victim of it more than others (so on one side Singapore last year, Monza and Baku this year; on the other side France, last year Mexico, and Baku?), but so far it doesn’t seem to have made him change. Mangussen has a similar issue for me, even if it is on the face good to see him not give a f*, in the end, it is not great for the sport.

    1. Exactly. The steward decision was nonsensical. There were two moves, whether or not in the same direction, that was clear. But the basic principle behind the rule was completely ignored: it exists to avoid dangerous (unexpected) maneouvres that end up in collisions. Vettel’s move was clearly unexpected by Hamilton: Vettel moved right and stopped, Hamilton then moved to overtake on the right in the space left and Vettel blocked for a second time, requiring a rapid response from Hamilton to avoid collision. He also did so close to a wall. Whiting’s instinctive reaction was correct. The stewards decision plain wrong. Of course, they may have decided they didn’t want to interfere in the championship by penalizing an action that didn’t result in an accident (thanks to Hamilton). It did potentially affect the race, though, since it required Hamiton to drive aggressively to gain the place and take some damage on his tyres. And that in turn clearly triggered the swap of places (as someone pointed out, after Mercedes learned that Vettel would go unpenalized). So there’s a whole cascade of effects derived from the stewards ducking their responsibility. Further ones will be, obviously, drivers making the same move as Vettel and presuming that they can do so unpenalized.

      1. I read something about a slight bump that Vettel mentioned was the reason he stopped movingto the side shortly – apparently it is somewhat visible in his onboard – that helped the Stewards giving him the benefit of the doubt in this case @bosyber, @david-br

        That said, I agree with you guys that had it been someone like Romain Grosjean, Haas ‘d be looking how to avoid putting Ferucci in their car to replace him (after him getting more points on his licence) and Max would have also been looking at a penalty most likely.

      2. @david-br Given the reality of the Championship standings, the last thing LH should have been was surprised that SV was going to try to make it as difficult as possible for him. It’s called racing for the titles between two 4 time WDCs. LH could have chosen a different and safer spot to pass, such was his pace advantage. LH would have tried equally as hard had the shoes been on the other foot.

        1. He tried to pass on the safest part of the track, the end of a straight. Care to tell us the safer place he could’ve tried that move?

          1. nope some people just comment to show how obviously biased they are…

            i m a hamilton fan, and as much as i wanted him to win fairly, hoped/wished he let bottas pass in the last corner like hungary… despite team asking them to keep position, he can ignore that kind of order where as bottas cant/not supposed to at this stage… team would still back him up! strategically it was correct, but sports should constitute fair play… thats why we use term “sportsmen like”!

  3. I didn’t see anything wrong with what Vettel did. I thought Hamilton would learn after Spain 2016 that you simply don’t drive into a wedge that’s always going to disappear. You may have a huge top speed delta, but the guy in front is going to block off the inside, it is simply the nature of racing. And it wasn’t as if Vettel moved to the inside during the braking phase i.e Verstappen in Baku. Moreover, I believe the title is misleading. Unless I missed a quote from the article, at no point did Hamilton say that he doesn’t get away with it, but simply that others do when they shouldn’t. But even if that was what he was saying, did Hamilton ever get penalized for moving more than once whilst defending? All I remember was a warning for weaving in Sepang 2010.

    1. Agreed there was never going to be space to make that move. It wasn’t a realistic pass.

      Vettel was already moving towards the inside before Hammy made his move. I’m not sure why Hammy didn’t simply go to the outside (much like with Spain 2016).

      What Hammy has got away with in the past is pushing guys off the circuit (especially in the duels with Rosberg).

      The most egregious example was Austin 2015 where he actually moved the wheel to the right in a left hand turn in order to push him off the circuit.

      Rosberg was understandably furious after the race, threw his cap back at Hammy when Hammy threw it at him, and the rest his history.

      Rosberg beats Hammy for the championship in 2016.

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        4th October 2018, 12:41

        What a post :-)

      2. Oh dear the old Rosberg the victim of Hamilton’s bullying thing again. Let’s of course for the benefit of your argument to completely forget the multiple occasions where Rosberg opened the steering or just literally didn’t even bother turning in at all to force Hamilton off the circuit at more than a handful of races, shall we?

        1. Like… For two years Rosberg didn’t push back enough and he lost the title both times. He then started giving Hamilton the same treatment Hamilton was giving him and then won the title. Rosberg did it far more blatantly and probably with less finesse than Hamilton, but by the end they were doing the same thing to each other.

          1. Canada 2014 Rosberg ran Hamilton out of track, exact same move people always complaining about Hamilton doing, so let’s not start this “for 2 years” nonsense

          2. The reason Hamilton lost to Rosberg one year was to bad starts. Only that.

      3. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
        4th October 2018, 13:27

        From the body language of the cars it was never a realistic opportunity:
        VET: I’m closing the inside
        HAM: Well I’m going inside anyway
        VET: It’s closed!

      4. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        4th October 2018, 19:52

        @Anon
        As a Hamilton (not “Hammy” but at least you put the effort into capitalising the H!”) fan I am actually in agreement. Spain 2016, Hamilton chose the inside and stuck to it, door closed, end of story. He looked like he was going to do the same again in Sochi. I literally covered my eyes when he made the move. An outside switch when Vettel moved the first time would have been the better option. Certainly Ricciardo would have done that and made it stick. Hamilton is the best on the grid in my opinion but Ricciardo and Verstappen have moved the goal posts in terms of overtaking and defending.

        1. Forcing the inside move compromised Vettel’s entry into the corner. If lewis had done the switch as you said, Vettel would have parked the bus and had a better run out of the corner. I believe it would have been too risky.

      5. Every time you post about Hamilton it only shows how much of an eternal loser you are, anon.

    2. you simply don’t drive into a wedge that’s always going to disappear

      @mashiat Plainly you didn’t grasp the idea that the wedge wouldn’t be disappearing if Vettel hadn’t closed the gap for a second time.

      1. But let’s be realistic that you are saying a few inches is ‘closing a gap.’ That’s why there was no penalty. It was that marginal.

        @anon I agree with your comment.

        1. @robbie There’s a basic difference between a sufficient gap to pass and no gap. Before Vettel moved a second time there was a sufficient gap. That’s why Hamilton went for it! Vettel’s second move wasn’t ‘just a few inches’, it left no room for two cars.

          1. @david-br The point being it was not a significant enough move to be penalized. Let’s not make it sound like SV moved a whole car width and blocked a whole lane. It was hard racing that should be of no surprise given the situation, slightly unfair enough to warrant looking at, not significant enough to penalize. LH had to know SV was not just going to act like a backmarker. He should have been wary of everything possible given that it was for all intents and purposes for the Championship.

          2. @robbie You admonition makes no sense! Hamilton was alert enough to avoid the accident, so he was ‘wary.’ But as you said, he’s racing in championship battle so he’s entitled to exploit opportunities within the rules to the maximum – that’s basically his job and the only way to race at this level. Moving a whole car width or not is irrelevant, half a car width blocks a ‘whole lane’ as you put it! I really don’t get your argument.

          3. @david-br Well the argument is SV didn’t move significantly and for you to say he ‘avoided the accident’ is disingenuine. SV made a move unworthy of penalty, LH got by him anyway…next.

          4. @david-br you cant argue with biased people who only see their fanatic driver not a fair driver… whiting said himself it was blatant 2 moves! just because he changed to one direction doesnt mean it wasnt not two moves… i thought for a second they crashed actually due to sparks/smokes/dust whatever came off and noise made it sound like hamilton clipped his front wing…

            rosberg didnt win because he was aggressive (it did him more harm then good) he kept it clean and consistent enough and a bit of luck (hello malaysia that changed everything)… he was smoother most of the season bad a few races… when he was overly aggressive, he got no where…

            same with vettel, he was impatient and aggressive most season which (probably will) cost him the title this year… under pressure, he makes too many rookie mistakes… maybe he is too ambitious and anxious due to not being able to challenge for so long…

          5. @mysticus I tend to agree, the question isn’t so much the aggression as knowing when to use it. Rosberg was and Vettel still is poor at judging the right time. Verstappen started badly but seems to be adapting as Hamilton did in his early career. Leclerc on present evidence already seems a far better judge of when to attack and when to hold off than Vettel. It’s not going to be easy at Ferrari next season…

    3. maybe this is the quote you missed: “As far as I’m aware when I drive down the straight I’m not allowed to move twice. But there are drivers that do move twice and nothing happens to them.” @mashiat

      Not materially different from the title (just a bit longer)

  4. Bit hard to make blocks when you have the fastest car for 5 years, no one to block! I remember Hamilton used to do dirty moves in his mclaren days.

  5. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    4th October 2018, 12:39

    Lewis is 100% right – not just about Vettel getting away with a clear penalty BUT the fact that this was a very dangerous move. It came down to milliseconds and millimeters. Like Lewis said, he could have been sent off into the air.

    I view Seb as one of the most dangerous F1 racers ever to race in F1 – it’s a miracle he hasn’t hurt anyone. He uses straights as a means to push the opponent off the road and he somehow gets no penalty for it which of course encourages the behavior.

    1. Agreed, but don’t think he does that intentionally though, he’s just not as skilled as other drivers

    2. The stewards decision most likely tripped Toto from merely considering team orders to actually doing it 3 laps later. If in a close race the judges of fact don’t interpret the rules evenly, then doing the right thing and allowing your drivers to race also goes out the window, hence the call for Valtteri to let Lewis through.

      1. @frasier F1 decided to allow the drivers to race rather than penalize SV for a marginal thing that would have had F1 appear to be deciding the Championship in the boardroom, which nobody wants. We want and need gladiator vs gladiator action. And of course many had a problem with what Mercedes did too. But your theory that TW did the driver swap out of revenge for the non-call on SV continues to hold no water and is completely unsubstantiated. To you SV penalty = VB win. Ridiculous still, no matter how often you try to spin it.

        1. More spin and nonsense from @robbie. I never mentioned the word revenge, you need to read more carefully, Toto is clearly a leader with common sense. If the chips even appear to be stacked against you, then you use all the tools at your disposal to counter that bias.

          As for gladiatorial stuff, I’d leave that to Russell Crowe and Hollywood, F1 operates to a different set of rules and to many eyes, Lewis’ included, Seb broke them.

          You seem to lose all objectivity when it anything to do with Lewis, why is that I wonder?

          1. @frasier Of course you were going to choose your words more carefully than to actually directly say what you mean. The word is revenge and just because you haven’t used it, you’ve been implying it since last weekend. LH implied sabotage throughout 2016 but of course was never going to actually use that word. I’m using far more objectivity than you on the matter. Why don’t you tell me directly why you think I allegedly lose all objectivity when it comes to LH?

          2. Robbie, you’ve freely admitted on more than one occasion that you are biased against Lewis. Not that you needed too, it’s as plain as the nose on my face.

            You can’t confess to being biased against him then claim that any of your posts are objective on any subject that involves him.

          3. That’s the thing, though, LH uses the “sabotage” theory only when others are supposedly sabotaging him. The guy has a persecution complex and thinks people are out to get him. He accused Ferrari of using tricks just a few weeks ago, but “magically” Mercedes were much faster in Sochi. Don’t expect LH to use the same standard on himself though. MB just works hard and he is just skilled. Others do tricks and get favours.

          4. Plot twist you are Voldemort @williamjones

        2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          4th October 2018, 19:51

          @Robbie I understand why the stewards didn’t want to penalize Vettel but that essentially almost makes it impossible to penalize him. He’s 2nd in the championship because he’s made mistakes in other races so he’s put himself in a position where he cannot be punished because doing so affects the race and the championship. He’s essentially a player on the field who can’t get a red card no matter what he does.

          If they don’t want to affect the championship, then could give him a $1 million dollar penalty which might catch his attention.

        3. Ironically these “boardroom” decisions are why Vettel is still in the championship, because he doesn’t get the penalties he deserves. You make it sound like Ferrari and Mercedes are trying to disqualify the other because their wings are a millimeter too wide, or something like that.

          1. @robbie doesn’t half spout nonsense sometimes. His prejudice against Hamilton makes him devoid of any kind of logic regarding any issue that involves or concerns a certain Messrs Lewis Hamilton.

          2. @kbdavies sometime i cant think but see a pattern of nonsense with robbie and someone called “anon”… they spout exact/similar pattern of opinion/bias/absolute rubbish… penalties are not two tiers like one set for top 2 wdc contenders and one set for others… sighs… these decisions almost look like an ace scorer/player in a derby match never gets red card because they want to keep top two teams/players in good shape to keep games exciting…

  6. The stewards ruled it fine, not sure why he’s bringing it up again. Personally I didn’t see much wrong, seemed harshly defensive but that’s all. What did he want, Vettel to wave him through? He’s not Bottas, and let’s be honest Verstappen or Ricciardo wouldn’t have given as much space as Vettel did.

    Given the pace of the Merc he blew past Vettel not long after anyway so why complain? Worth pointing out Hamilton’s no angel himself and has gotten away with questionable moves now and then just as much as everyone else has – just as much as he’s been punished for them too. Sit down Lewis, you’re still going to win, stop playing the victim.

    Stewarding is sometimes inconsistent. Often people seem to get a penalty for what someone else did last weekend and was ruled fine. The consistency of the rules probably needs looking at but I agree with people saying you don’t want to sanitize the racing too much – we want to see them fight! Otherwise what’s the point you might as well stick to qualifying and hand out the points there. I’d rather watch two cars battling rather than just being waved past or rendered irrelevant by a performance gap.

    1. +1 should have put my post below with yours here.

    2. So because the steward ruled it fine means Lewis should shut up about it? Does the same logic apply to Grosjean, Magnussen, Verstappen, Perez, Ocon, and the myriad of drivers that mention or talk about an issue when asked – even if it is after the event and subsequent penalties?

      Or does it only apply to Lewis Hamilton? This was exactly the same move that ended both Red Bull drivers race in Baku.

      And Charlie Whiting agreed with Lewis that Vettel did move twice. More so, He said so AFTER the event and subsequent penalties. I didn’t see anyone telling him to shut up.

  7. Nobody not in a Ferrari does.

  8. Lewis is equally fast and melodramatic.

    1. @m-bagattini No, he’s just reminding the stewards (and Whiting) that Vettel got a free pass on this one. Next time they may not be so lenient. Likewise the opposite – should he do the same.

  9. I don’t get away with making two moves like Vettel

    Hamilton did once get away with making four moves at the 2010 Malaysian GP when defending from Petrov. He then did something considerably less extreme with Alonso the following year at the same circuit and got penalised for it.

    1. @brickles Except he was moving out of Petrov’s way! i.e. to stop him catching a slip stream. It was at least original. So much so the stewards had to invent a new rule to cover it. It’s why things at least get interesting when a new talent like Verstappen shows up and pushes the rules in new directions.

    2. @brickles He got warned for doing it to Petrov in 2010 & when he did the same thing the next year got a penalty for it.

      1. @stefmeister – 2010, he received a black and white warning flag. If I’m right in saying this, to date, that was the last time that flag was used in an F1 race.

    3. @brickles wanna talk about like 2008 spa? where hamilton forced off track by rai, and ended up in front of rai , then gave the position back, and still got penalty despite rai crashed in an unforced situation all by himself… by ham got a penalty of 25secs despite giving the position back! and rule never included not to be able attack after position given back, and rule made up to two include those wording after race and penalty given!

      nowadays that only constitutes 5 sec penalty…

      1. @mysticus – Spa 2008 was a rather different incident compared to Malaysia 2010, but it’s a very interesting coincidence that both effectively caused a rewriting and rewording of the rulebook. As for Spa itself, I personally didn’t think Hamilton did much wrong there, although he might not have taken to the run-off if it was gravel rather than tarmac. Even so, the 25 second penalty he did receive was a bit wrong in my view.

        1. watch https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x16730y around 23.30 mark…

          hamilton was along side, rainy and hard to keep the cars on track… both brake late and rai push ham (on racing line so fair/legal?) then ham gain advantage and gave the position back, but rai was keep sliding so he couldnt put the power down thats why ham was on his tail and there was no rule to wait 2 corners until after the race… and kimi still couldnt keep the car on track even after a driver blocked ham and he passed ham again… he went off twice and the 2nd time wrecked himself… ham didnt get a lasting advantage! and his pass didnt even change the outcome as kimi crashed all by himself, yet he got a penalty that was disgusting to say the least from F1 for what its worth! they did their best to give the wdc to ferrari/massa…

          malaysia incident was hamilton trying to drop the tow and not block overtaking, and petrov was trying to use it to gain and not be overtaken again as train of cars coming behind… then one move rule made up with the warning instead of punish first and make up a rule next… as far as i remember there wasnt one move rule until after that race?

        2. I don’t dispute what you’re saying about Spa, I very much agree with your summation.

          The one move rule has always existed, whether in written form (Possibly in recent years) or by ‘gentleman’s agreement’. Michael Schumacher once complained about Damon Hill’s moving three times during the 1998 Canadian GP.

  10. I can only chuckle – I don’t think Lewis even cares about that incident particularly.

    The main protagonists know one another’s weaknesses. While he’s got the momentum, Lewis will keep coming out with this stuff to turn the screw. He’s simply kicking the man while he’s down to limit the chances he’ll get back up.

    I love that fun side of Seb we see when he’s a star in a reasonably priced car, but I’ve also seen enough of the ugly side of his character in interviews and snide little manouvres on track that I for one am thoroughly enjoying the theatre and his uppance cometh :D

    Less bothered about the championship than I am watching these two get the chance to continue the wheel to wheel action.

  11. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
    4th October 2018, 13:19

    No but you do get to cut corners, so swings and roundabouts

    1. You surely would get away with machine gunning the guy in front, or whatever. I’m surprised Merc doesn’t fit a couple of 0.50s on your nose. Because of the weight, most likely.

  12. True, you even get away with changing your line 4 times like in Sepang in 2010.

  13. This is the kind of melodrama and self-promotion that backs me off supporting this guy.

    We’ve seen marginal moves get cleared by the stewards before. F1 is famous for it’s inconsistencies sometimes, but sometimes that is for very good reason.

    Should any of us be surprised that SV (or put anyone else in his position) would try as hard as he could, even be a bit desperate, when that move likely signified the Championship being decided in front of our eyes? We just saw confirmation that Mercedes still has the dominant car and the car to beat…the benchmark. Would we have preferred that SV just lie down and take it? Or do we want gladiators on the track?

    We know that F1, FIA, and Liberty get that we don’t want to see Championships decided in the boardroom. SV’s move may have been slightly debatable, and had it been more blatant perhaps F1 would have had no choice, but wrt what happened, F1 has done the series a favour by not penalizing SV for such a small thing that only LH is trying to make into a big thing…still.

    Mercedes has shown themselves once again to be dominant, LH just got handed an extra 7 points by his team, the Championships are most likely sealed, and that’s not enough. Nah with all LH has, and still wants more, he doesn’t need my support too. He blows his own horn plenty well.

    1. +1 honestly. Man really needs to calm down.

    2. @robbie And Hamilton’s the melodramatic one…

      1. @david-br Yes, hence my response.

    3. +1

    4. straw man arguments from the resident fool.

      Nobody said vettel should’ve pulled over and let him by, just that he needs to fallow the safety rules at 200+ mph.

      Above you mention someone being disengenous, but the only person acting that way does it on a daily basis… you.

      I’m POSITIVE Lewis looses sleep over you not being one of his fans…

      1. Oh my god. Vettel moved first. He pointed his car at the wall – there was never a gap for Lewis to get past, he just didn’t have the closing speed needed, as evidenced by the fact that he wasn’t even alongside by the time there wasn’t a car width.
        There’s a stabilised video on Reddit here: https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/9khcw7/stabilised_video_of_vettels_defensive_maneuver/ that pretty clearly shows that Vettel did nothing wrong, and that his defense was actually pretty damn good.
        Lewis needs to stop his crying, stop passively-aggressively playing the victim when he’s 50 points ahead, and acknowledge that he got schooled but managed to get past later.

        1. Great stabilized video! This shows that Vettel indeed made one move, but for some reason it appears that he made two moves from Hamilton’s onboard. No wonder Hamilton thinks he made two moves.

    5. @robbie You always bring up the “championship decided in the boardroom” as a reason to not properly penalize the drivers because it might hurt the championship. You’re fully in favour of different rules depending on the amount of points a driver has.

    6. @robbie As long as I’ve been on this site (many, many years), you’ve been hugely biased against Lewis Hamilton. You have OPENLY admitted this in the past (and then tried to deny it – we had that conversation a few years ago!). Many of us here know this, and have called you out on this.

      From his hair, to his dress, to what he says, to what he does on/off the track, to ANYTHING Hamilton – you are just against him!

      For those who may not be aware, there is no point getting into a discussion\argument with @robbie regarding anything Hamilton. I don’t know what the real reason is (I do have my thoughts), but this is just how it is.

  14. Besides there was also Hulkenberg moving several times to break the tow.
    Hamilton did something like that once and Barichello said he’d never seen something like that in his life before. But no one even bothered to mention that.
    Some rules are just not readily enforceable or Are subject to interpretation

  15. Come on Lewis. Did you really expect Seb to let you pass that easily? Besides, there was next to no room in Turn 1 for you to safely overtake. It is racing. I am sure most of us if not all of us loved you race which doesn’t happen often. Get on with it.

    1. Yes, there is almost no gladiator spirit left. Nobody even touched. He won, having been gifted the win.., and he still whines a week later…

      1. Seb has the gladiator spirit. It’s gotten him in trouble sometimes and at other times has helped him like when passing Bottas on the grass after a double fake or when banging wheels with Riccardo. Lewis has it too, as do others. It’s about having it in the right amount and not overstepping the boundaries and I think Vettel does not (except Baku). With Lewis, however, when it doesn’t go his way he starts his usual melodramatic performances. Lewis pass on Vettel just a little later was a true show of force. But Lewis is going to be Lewis and moan.

  16. The rule is being interpreted to not make two changes of direction. Vettel changed direction only once, but moved the car in two stages. Therefore he didn’t break the rule. Fair enough, but maybe the rule needs rewording.

    I was surprised Vettel pushed as hard while watching live. It seemed quite desperate and not what you’d expect of a 4 times WDC. One wonders what sort of pressure he’s under behind the scenes, and if being Ferrari’s #1 is more curse than blessing.

  17. I think he has to complain now when things don’t go wrong because people will pick up on him not complaining when things do go wrong. I’m surprised there wasn’t a crash too.

  18. Nor can he get away with lying

  19. YellowSubmarine
    4th October 2018, 18:05

    That vettel move was right out of the Singapore 2017 grand prix playbook. Difference is that Lewis, unlike Kimi, was aware of the danger and took evasive action.

  20. These things happen all the time, though it only gets bigger attetion if occuring between biggest stars. There was a similar move between Magnussen and Perez that wasn’t even investigated. Taking into account the more liberal stance by the stewards, the decision has been correct. The problem has always being with the consistency, Gasly got a 5s penalty for barging past Perez at Silverstone though almost identical move by Verstappen on Raikkonen at Austria was viewed differently. Similarly, Vettel’s big error at the start in France ended with only 5s penalty, despite him destroying Bottas’s race as well.

    Funny thing with Hamilton is the fact he only got a warning at Sepang 2010 for dramatic weaving on Petrov yet much lesser transgression in 2011 resulted in a 20s penalty.

  21. Mr. Whiny Boy seams to have forgotten his weaving in Malaysia a few years a go when he got away. He also have forgotten about overtaking the safety car in Valencia… just shut up, Lewis!

    1. You don’t have to go that far. He stepped over the white separation line during pit stop entry, an automatic penalty for which he was not booked. Even worse, in Germany he went into the pit lane and back out onto the track and never got reprimanded. Lewis only sees faults in other’s behaviour, never his own.

      1. Dave (@davewillisporter)
        4th October 2018, 20:19

        @Ben – Some clarifications for you.
        Pit lane exit is much more safety critical. Drivers are almost always penalised for crossing on exit.
        Pit lane entry is not safety critical at most tracks so there is no hard and fast rules. If there is deemed to be a danger at a particular track on pit entry it is specifically stipulated in driver briefings. Did that happen in Sochi? Nope!
        Germany: “The FIA’s race notes ahead of the Hockenheim weekend did not make specific reference to drivers cutting back on track”
        And some perspective – No driver sees their own faults as clearly as they see others. He is no different from the rest of them.

  22. Probably politics but I still dislike this kind of whining a lot. Drivers are supposed to fight for every inch. He could back out of his move and overtake in the next corner. So it wasn’t that bad

  23. Oh the Golden Child is whining about others getting preferential treatment? That’s hilarious and full of irony.

    1. Lance is not mentioned anywhere in this article, only a gifted driver who showed he deserves his current position in Formula 1.

  24. There needs to be more opinion polls on this website

  25. It’s a bit of a weird one

    From Hamilton’s onboard you can see why he thinks it’s 2 moves however from Vettels onboard it looks like one move.

    Anyway I think seb realised he had been a bit robust and more or less let him through at the next corner.

  26. Looks for “I don’t get away with making two moves like Vettel”, not surprised to see he never actually said that, clickbait title…happens often with Lewis and as usual negative comments towards him the result, not just here. The incident itself, legal move or not by Seb, on another day we could have seen another Baku ( Red Bulls ), it was a similar incident to that, high speed/braking zone and late defensive move, had Lewis locked up no doubt contact would have been made just like in Baku

    1. Looks for “I don’t get away with making two moves like Vettel”

      That isn’t a quote and at no point in this article is it presented as a quote. You’ve put it in quote marks, I haven’t. It’s a paraphrase, and when you read the quotes from Hamilton you can see it’s an entirely accurate paraphrase.

  27. Conclusions I take way from this:
    – Two moves in the same direction are ok.
    – Lewis is a princess.
    – Whiting has no balls.

  28. No, you get away doing four moves

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