Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Hamilton awaits Spa outcome

After winning the race once on the track at Spa, the International Court of Appeal will assess whether a stewards' ruling stripping him of the win should be reversed.

Not for the first time in Formula One's recent tarnished history has such an unsatisfactory conclusion to an event been deployed.

But 48 hours after Hamilton was demoted from first to third on the back of a retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty, McLaren have decided to pursue an appeal.

The trouble is, no-one is exactly sure if there is a case to answer as Article 152 of the FIA's International Sporting Code states a drive-through penalty is 'not susceptible to appeal'.

McLaren will contend there are exceptional circumstances in this instance, and if they convince the ICA of such a fact, they will then seek to overturn the stewards' decision.

This latest affair centres around an incident at the end of lap 42 of what was a thrilling 44-lap race as the stewards deemed Hamilton 'cut a corner and gained an advantage'.

After attempting to pass Kimi Raikkonen around the outside on entry to the final chicane, Hamilton was forced to cut the corner.

Returning to the Spa track along the pit straight, the 23-year-old temporarily held the lead before correctly handing it back.

Timing sheets indicate Raikkonen crossed the start-finish line 0.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with further data showing the latter was also six kilometres per hour slower at that point.

Hamilton then filed behind Raikkonen, before legitimately passing Ferrari's reigning world champion again on the run down to the first corner La Source hairpin.

In wet conditions, the lead then changed hands twice more on the penultimate lap prior to Raikkonen spinning into a wall, handing Hamilton a win that was taken away by the stewards two hours later.

Describing the incident, Hamilton said: "In the closing stages of the race I was catching Kimi consistently, lap by lap, and with three laps remaining I got close enough to attempt to overtake him on the entry to the last chicane.

"I managed to get slightly ahead of him in the braking area for the first apex of the chicane.

"He fought back approaching the second apex, but, in doing so, he left no room for me on the inside line.

"The only way for me to avoid a collision was therefore to cut inside the second apex.

"I came out of the second apex in front of Kimi and so I momentarily lifted-off on the straight, to ensure Kimi got back in front.

"The team also came on the radio and instructed me to allow Kimi to re-pass, which I had already done. As a result, Kimi crossed the start-finish line ahead of me, and 6.7kmh quicker than me.

"After allowing Kimi to completely re-pass, I crossed from the left side of the track to the right side of the track, passing behind Kimi in the process.

"I then attacked Kimi on the inside of the first corner and successfully outbraked him."

If McLaren successfully argue their right to appeal, their case to reverse the result will then be strengthened by the apparent claim of race director Charlie Whiting.

McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "From the pit wall, we asked Race Control to confirm they were comfortable Lewis had allowed Kimi to re-pass.

"They confirmed twice that they believed the position had been given back in a manner that was 'okay'.

"If Race Control had instead expressed any concern regarding Lewis's actions at that time, we would have instructed Lewis to allow Kimi to re-pass for a second time."

The decision of the stewards - Nicholas Deschaux, Surinder Thatti and Yves Bacquelaine - has since caused uproar.

It has prompted leading figures such as three-times champions Niki Lauda and Sir Jackie Stewart to berate their verdict.

It has also fed the long-held theory that the world governing body, the FIA, are pro-Ferrari and anti-McLaren.

That has since been strenuously denied by one of the stewards, Kenyan Thatti, who said: "There was no conspiracy against anybody, McLaren included.

"We acted professionally and within the FIA rules."

But Formula One fans are up in arms, with even an internet petition available to sign that up until 5pm on Tuesday had attracted 23,000 signatures in just 36 hours, with the aim to present it to the FIA.

Contrast that with a petition calling for the removal of Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise from Newcastle United that has so far only attracted just over 5,000 signatures.

McLaren set out on road to court

The team have confirmed they had lodged notice to appeal the 25-second penalty, which resulted in Hamilton's finishing place being downgraded from first to third by race stewards.

Now the case will be put before the International Court of Appeal.

Amazingly, though, confusion reigns over whether or not the FIA even have a case to answer due to Article 152 of the governing body's International Sporting Code which states a drive-through penalty is 'not susceptible to appeal'.

McLaren will contend there are exceptional circumstances in this instance, and if they convince the ICA of such a fact, they will then seek to overturn the stewards' decision.

This latest affair centres around an incident at the end of lap 42 where the stewards deemed Hamilton 'cut a corner and gained an advantage'.

After attempting to pass Kimi Raikkonen around the outside on entry to the final chicane, Hamilton was forced to cut the corner.

Returning to the Spa track along the pit straight, the 23-year-old temporarily held the lead before correctly handing it back.

Timing sheets indicate Raikkonen crossed the start-finish line 0.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with further data showing the latter was also six kilometres per hour slower at that point.

Hamilton then filed behind Raikkonen, before legitimately passing Ferrari's reigning world champion again on the run down to the first corner La Source hairpin.

In wet conditions, the lead then changed hands twice more on the penultimate lap prior to Raikkonen spinning into a wall, handing Hamilton a win that was taken away just two hours later.

Describing the incident, Hamilton said: "In the closing stages of the race I was catching Kimi consistently, lap by lap, and with three laps remaining I got close enough to attempt to overtake him on the entry to the last chicane.

"I managed to get slightly ahead of him in the braking area for the first apex of the chicane.

"He fought back approaching the second apex, but, in doing so, he left no room for me on the inside line.

"The only way for me to avoid a collision was therefore to cut inside the second apex.

"I came out of the second apex in front of Kimi and so I momentarily lifted-off on the straight, to ensure Kimi got back in front."

McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "From the pit wall, we asked Race Control to confirm they were comfortable Lewis had allowed Kimi to re-pass.

"They confirmed twice that they believed the position had been given back in a manner that was 'okay'.

"If Race Control had instead expressed any concern regarding Lewis' actions at that time, we would have instructed Lewis to allow Kimi to re-pass for a second time."

Ganguly dropped from Irani Cup

The others he was hinting at were Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman whose combined failure along with Ganguly's, cost India the Test series in Lanka.

Another former skipper Ajit Wadekar, however, feels that all the four vastly experienced senior batsmen, including the Bengal stalwart, should be in the team to take on the mighty Australians in the four-Test series commencing next month.

"The journey to re-build the team has started. This (omission of Ganguly) may be the way the selectors are planning for the future. Also this will keep others (seniors) on their toes. It's some sort of a signal to them," Borde told PTI from Pune.

The incident is reminiscent of India's landmark series in Pakistan in 1978.

Three decades ago India embarked on a historic tour to resume cricket rivalry between the two countries for the first time since 1961, relying mainly on the spin trio of Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and captain Bishen Singh Bedi to take wickets.

But all of them came a cropper and India lost the rubber.

The Pakistan batsmen, led by Zaheer Abbas who scored 583 runs averaging a phenomenal 194 per innings, made mincemeat of the spin trio's offerings. Heads rolled after the tour with Prasanna, who picked up only two wickets in two Tests at over 125 runs per victim, never played another Test.

Chandra and Bedi played in the following two series at home against Alvin Kallicharran's the West Indies and the 1979 series in England - before leaving the scene.

Wadekar though does not see India's tour of Sri Lanka as the beginning of the end for the 'Fab Four' batsmen and feels their presence in the Indian team is essential when the mighty Aussies come calling, aiming for back-to-back Test series victories.

"We had not prepared well for Lanka whose preparation, on the other hand, for the series was very good. But the experience of the seniors, including that of Ganguly, for the Test series against Australia will be vital. May be he (Ganguly) has been dropped because of his fielding," Wadekar said.

Both Borde and Wadekar were firm in their opinion that there was no replacement in sight as yet for skipper Anil Kumble who, at 37, is in the twilight of his career and also had a forgettable tour of Lanka. Kumble grabbed eight wickets while giving away 50 runs per victim.

"The Lankans put up a very good show against Kumble but on Indian wickets he and Harbhajan Singh are important to take wickets if the medium pacers don't take wickets against the Australians," Borde said.

Borde said that Kumble's likely successors Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra were not yet ready for taking over the mantle from the Karnataka stalwart.

"They are not ready to replace Kumble. They need to perform more consistently by doing well in one-dayers. Kumble is a very good thinker and when the time comes I'm sure he will leave on his own," the former middle order batting mainstay said.

Wadekar also felt that Chawla and Mishra were "too raw" and that Kumble was still going "great guns".

"I don't think the youngsters are ready to take charge. They have not yet been groomed for it," he explained.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

IPL doors open for Roy....

Andrew Symonds, who is considering his options after being left out of Australia's squad for the Bangladesh ODIs on disciplinary grounds, is free to re-join the Deccan Chargers in 2009, according to the IPL team's new CEO, Tim Wright.

"The Deccan Chargers will - as will any IPL team - want Andrew Symonds in from the very first ball of the competition to the very last ball,'' Wright told AAP. "He will strengthen any Indian Premier League team by his presence.''

Wright said it was important Symonds "was enjoying his cricket", whether while playing for the Australian team or for Deccan, adding that he would "absolutely not" try and encourage him to end his international career.

"From an entirely personal point of view, I'd like to see Symonds help Deccan win the IPL and I'd like to see him star in an Ashes series against England in 2009," Wright said.

Wright stressed that the IPL was not looking to go one-up on Tests and ODIs. "The IPL doesn't stand alone. It's part of the world game, run through the auspices of the BCCI, which is part of the ICC. All of our players play within the structure of cricket, if they choose to."

Earlier this year, Symonds became the IPL's second-most expensive player when he was bought by Deccan for a three-year deal worth US$1.35 million annually. Symonds, though, only played four games for them before flying out to join the Australian team for their tour of the West Indies. He was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise poor campaign for Deccan, which eventually finished last, scoring 161 runs at 80.50 including a century against the Rajasthan Royals.