Robert Kubica, Williams, Hockenheimring, 2019

Kubica and Hamilton score points as Alfa Romeo are penalised

2019 German Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

Robert Kubica has scored the first point since his return to Formula 1 after both Alfa Romeos were given 30-second penalties in the German Grand Prix.

The Williams driver has moved up to 10th place in the classification. Lewis Hamilton has also gained two points by inheriting ninth as a result of the penalties. He therefore increases his championship lead to 41 points.

Romain Grosjean is promoted to seventh place ahead of team mate Kevin Magnussen.

The stewards ruled that the torque delivered by both cars at the start of the race did not match the torque demand requested by the drivers’ input within the required time of 0.07s. Giovinazzi’s delay was measured at 0.3s, Raikkonen’s at 0.2s.

The stewards ruled this violated the sporting regulations requirement for drivers to “drive the car alone and unaided.”

“In order to guide the teams as to how they can conform to this regulation, the FIA’s Formula One department has published to the teams a document specifying how each of the various systems that could aid a driver would be regulated,” they explained.

“The stewards considered that this document has the same effect as a technical directive as affirmed by the International Court of Appeal. The clutch is controlled electronically via the common ECU. However, the teams have the option to tune some of the controlling parameters.

“In order to prevent the teams from using this tuning to affect the way in which the clutch engages at the start of the race in a way that could potentially mimic traction control or other advantageous schemes, the FIA requires that the torque in the clutch matches (within specified limits) the torque demand as the driver releases the clutch. This must occur within 70 milliseconds.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

“In the case of both cars of Alfa Romeo Racing, the time that it took for the torque to align with the torque demand was close to 200 milliseconds and 300 milliseconds respectively. This provided a more gradual application of the torque, which given the wet conditions was a potential advantage. Regardless of whether there was an actual advantage, the Stewards determined that this was a clear breach of the guidance given to the teams as to how this would be adjudicated.

“The stewards held a hearing and reviewed the data, with three members of the team present, including the engineers concerned, along with the FIA Technical Delegate and his assistants responsible for these checks. The team accepted that they were not within the required limits. The stewards accepted the team’s explanation that the cause of this was that they were caught out by the unusual weather conditions and the fact that they did not do any practice starts under these climatic conditions and set the parameters in a way that failed to meet the requirements.

“However, the stewards noted that the FIA technical delegates check this parameter on all cars, and that no other irregularities were found. The obligation to meet the requirements is irrespective of the climatic conditions. Therefore, the stewards considered that a breach of Article 27.1 occurred.”

Raikkonen and Giovinazzi were penalised as if they had performed false starts. “The stewards order a 10-second stop-and-go time penalty, which as this was applied after the race will be converted to a 30 second time penalty,” the stewards noted.

“In reaching this decision, the stewards noted that this was a breach of the Sporting Regulations and as a guide compared this to a false start with a potential advantage which carries a normal penalty of a 10 second stop-and-go under the Sporting Regulations.”

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2019 F1 season

Browse all 2019 F1 season articles

Author information

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...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

50 comments on “Kubica and Hamilton score points as Alfa Romeo are penalised”

  1. Really pleased for Williams. A morale booster for all their hard work.

    1. Nothing of their hard work gave them this point however.

      1. Being in the race doesn’t count now? OK.
        Being in the race and not making mistakes doesn’t count now? OK.
        Being in the race, not making mistakes and not cheating doesn’t count now? OK.

        The rush to discredit Williams over this by many posters on many F1 sites is really cynical. When will you lot be happy?

      2. What a completely uninformed comment…

    2. Happy for the Williams team. @keithcollantine is Robert Kubicas wait for this point the longest on F1 history? Sińce Renault 2010 and now…

      1. I believe it is the longest wait between 2 point scores at 8 years 8 months, taking the record away from Lucien Bianchi

        1. grand uncle of Jules Bianchi

  2. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    28th July 2019, 20:00

    Kubica scoring points is funny, cool and pretty good news for Williams. Hamilton scoring points despite not scoring any is… well ok.

  3. Im impressed something like this got caught.

    1. I actually had a hunch Alfa were running something like TC as far back as Canada. See if you can find a video of when Giovanazzi spun at T2. The tire marks are evenly split up as though the engine is cutting torque because it senses too much wheelspin.

      1. Atleast Red Bull doesn’t have a TC what so ever if we see now for 2 starts. But in the rain it’s very good to see.

        Good spotted btw I said to my friends looks like Alpha has a TC as joke as both blast from their startpositions.

  4. Williams points. This race really did have everything.

    1. and its Kubica that scored the points and not Russell. you cant make this stuff up

  5. Great. Now the Kubica army will use this to demand a second season in a Williams. In a perfect world, Bottas would be dumped to Williams and Ocon would take his place.

    1. Really?
      Bottas does an outstanding job, dumping him is downright stupid.

      1. @dallein Outstanding job keeping Hamilton happy?

      2. I have been a Bottas fan from the beginning, but he doesn’t have it. Yes, he is a great team mate and team player. He is a top ten driver.

        Unfortunately, he isn’t competitive with Ham. Either the team is favoring Ham or he isn’t getting it done.

        1. Anon A. Mouse
          28th July 2019, 23:47

          But is there any logic in getting rid of Bottas? He brings in wins and podiums which is exactly what Mercedes want out of him. If Bottas wasn’t in the top 5 of the WDC, I could see the argument. But as it stands he’s performing the way he needs to.

          1. WINS? 5 wins in three years. Last year, both Ferrari and RB drivers won a race. Did Bottas?

            Is he a good bag carrier for Ham? Yes. Is he an elite driver? No.

          2. In the same period that Bottas has been in that Mercedes, Verstappen has more wins in the Red Bull

    2. Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
      28th July 2019, 20:19

      Kubica outscored the reigning GP2 champion and Bottas
      Kubica to Mercedes!!!

      /s

  6. “Nice”. Another “winners” of today’s lottery.
    Williams can be a bit happy, for Lewis and Merc it will be like a salt on the wound…

    Anyway, except for Max, and maybe Vettel, this race was not a race.
    They could have just thrown D20 dice in the beginning of the race to determine all finishing positions – the result would have been the same.

    1. @dallein Nonsense – the drivers who managed to keep it on the tarmac, and made good decisions were rewarded, and those who made mistakes, however small, were severely punished. Almost anyone could have won this race IF they drove perfectly and IF they made the absolutely correct decisions at every point in the race. That’s not a lottery, that’s an incredibly tough and unforgiving race.

      1. Yep @keithedin, no one that did well today got that result by lucking into it, apart from profiting from others not coping with the variable and difficult circumstances well enough while they themselves managed to make less(severe) errors.

        As for Hamilton, well, until the slick tyre phase he was quite supreme, and at least he didn’t bin it with the podium in sight, so fair enough I suppose that Bottas lags even further behind now?

        1. I completely disagree. The timing of tyre changes in a race like that isn’t something you get right or wrong, it’s something you get lucky with or don’t. Pit the lap before someone crashes and the safety car comes out, and even if you somehow managed to perfectly predict the rain, you’ll still lose or gain many places solely due to luck.that

          Some teams and drivers made mistakes that took them out of contention, but others got away with equally big mistakes. Verstappen spun when the field hadn’t been bunched up by a safety car, so no real time lost.

    2. I don’t really understand this point of view. The drivers that didn’t put it in the barriers did well in the race. The rain evened the playing field more than usual. I think actually some drivers and teams proved their capabilities in very tough conditions, far from the random F1 due to tyre windows of the past that resulted in Maldonado winning a race.

    3. F1’s too predictable and boring!

      *exciting unpredictable race that showcases the skill of drivers*

      That was too unpredictable you might as well just roll a dice!

      You simply won’t win with some people. Not that my passion for F1 has ever really waned but it’s sure been reinvigorated with these last 3 races!

  7. I can see why F1 is a very expensive and complicated sport.
    A delayed start is equivalent to a jump start or put another way, hesitation amounts to beating the gun.
    Such that, WilliamsF1 always late for tea suddenly win points, all the time competing in another series.
    Double irony, by their consistently slower driver.

    1. But he was as fast as Russell all race, and then Russell made the mistake, so fair play to kubica. A result like that can be a turn around for kubica, drivers rely on positivity, he was away for a very long time and came back and scored a point.

      1. kpcart, the situation fluctuated throughout the race, with Kubica sometimes faster and then Russell sometimes faster, but for most of the race Russell was actually the leading driver – Kubica might have scored that point, but it does feel a bit like it was more of a stroke of luck than a genuine reflection of pace.

  8. and HAM just wanted to retire. what a champ.

  9. Lewis extends his championship lead, oh the irony.

    1. Where’s the irony?

      1. Google it.

        1. I google’d it and it showed me a picture of Bottas’ smashed up car.

    2. I would also suggest that this means the championship win is almost set in stone though. On what is almost certainly due to be Hamilton’s worst race performance of the season, he still extends his championship lead.

  10. HAM just posted this: #BLESSED.

    1. I can tell you’re a fan.

    2. well this is his latest from twitter and FB, where he congratulates Max, thanks his fans, says I won’t lie; it hurts. So can you give us a link to the post that just he just posted that says blessed.

      https://twitter.com/LewisHamilton/status/1155546924096860160?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

      https://www.facebook.com/LewisHamilton/photos/a.729042947177036/2758623700885607/?type=3&theater

      1. He was joking.

  11. Well done Robert, well deserved!

    1. Ham didn’t deserve the points…

      1. Oh he did.

  12. So last year Vettel put it in the wall, driving in heavy rain conditions with medium tires and he’s been called a dumb ever since. This year a bunch of drivers put it in the wall, and it’s sheer misfortune? HAM fans gotta be kidding…

    1. You’re allowed the odd mistake.

    2. Boy Wonder made a horlicks of the start; did a major wobble at the chicane and a complete 360 later in the race – and yet is venerated for his performance. Go figure..

    3. I think the difference can probably be attributed to the fact that in the last 3 years Hamilton has made very few mistakes on track, with this being the only high profile one I can really remember. Whereas Vettel has made a number of high profile mistakes while running towards the front in the last 12 months alone.

    4. To add to what others were saying – Vettel binned it when it could have made a turning point in his championship fight. Instead he binned it, allowing Hamilton to win and took a run to the title while Seb seemed to crumble.

      First of all, Hamilton was not the only one to bin it, it was really quite tricky out there, so that is a difference. And then, Hamilton at least kept it going and even got another point in after the penalties. This won’t hurt Hamilton’s title fight very much. He has a large lead and he didn’t crash out like many others.

    5. You’re wrong.

      The dumb driver chat started when he rammed another car in Baku ’17 or wiped out himself and his teammate in Singapore same year.

      Germany ’18 was just another typical Vettel moment.

  13. grand uncle of Jules Bianchi

Comments are closed.