Formula One officials are investigating Lewis Hamilton's victory in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix following complaints about erratic driving.

 

Red Bull's Mark Webber has accused the Englishman of doing a "bad job" behind the safety car after being knocked out of the race while following Hamilton.

Hamilton's win at Fuji gave him a 12-point lead and put him on the verge of winning the world championship.

 

If he is found guilty, he could have his points from Japan erased.

....

 

 

i've followed formula one for about ten years now and i cant quite see how the fia are supposed to be neutral. for some reason there's been quite a few decisions which kept the championship open. to me it just isnt about sport no more. they keep changing the rules EVERY year which is supposed to make it more attractive? seriously what the hell is this about? people who dont watch it regularly surely dont get the rules no more. anyway the whole thing doesnt annoy me because it affects hamilton (i truly believe hes still gonna be champion even if he got disqualified but its not about that) theres been a few similar decision in recent years and i just cant understand it no more. i dont see the point of watching it no more if they're telling me a few days after that the winner didnt actually win. there are rules and you should get punished if theres some serious offense. but there wasnt, no one was going on about it until today. its just ridiculous if you ask me.

It's getting beyond a joke isn't it?

 

I enjoy F1 but it seems to be becoming a complete bitching session.

 

I can understand the point of making it more about the effort of the drivers/teams over the 3-4 days of each round - rather than simply all the "money teams" being the only ones to have any chance of winning anything really - BUT the teams don't seem know where they stand with the rules and I bet after every season is over they just are dredding the next big rule shake-up.....when is it going to end, or at calm down a bit??

 

At this rate there will be a rule that states that rules must change every season!

*headdesk*

 

 

.... I have no words... I want to rant, but...

 

I love this sport, but this is getting ridiculous.

The A1GP is much better viewing.

 

All the cars are basically the same, so it's a battle of the drivers.

Hamilton cleared after Japan row

 

Hamilton has been upset by the whole saga since Japan

 

Lewis Hamilton will not be punished for alleged erratic driving behind the safety car in the Japanese Grand Prix. The 22-year-old had been under investigation and at risk of losing the 10 points for his race win in Fuji.

But the FIA has ruled Hamilton will not be penalised following an accident where Sebastian Vettel crashed into Mark Webber in appalling conditions.

And Vettel has had a 10-place penalty on the starting grid for Sunday's Chinese GP replaced with a reprimand.

 

Interview: Formula One expert Murray Walker

The ruling leaves Hamilton on the verge of winning the championship in his debut season, as he takes a 12-point lead over McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso into the final two races.

Hamilton, Vettel and Webber and their team officials reported to stewards at the Chinese Grand Prix.

They watched parts of the Japan race, including amateur footage of the accident which had appeared on video-sharing website YouTube.

606: DEBATE

Common sense has prevailed

 

 

William

 

Following that meeting, the stewards stated: "The involvement of Lewis Hamilton in this incident has been considered in the light of the evidence given by him, his team manager and in particular all other parties present, and no penalty is imposed on him."

Earlier on Friday Hamilton had expressed his disillusionment over the whole saga, which erupted after Webber accused him of doing a "bad job" behind the safety car, which was employed because of the wet weather.

Red Bull driver Webber was knocked out of the race by Toro Rosso's Vettel when they were following Hamilton, and the Australian believes Hamilton braked excessively behind the safety car on lap 45.

Hamilton said: "If I've been in the wrong, I've been the first to put my hand up, or apologise at least.

"And I don't mind being given a penalty but there's been some real strange situations this year where I'm made to look the bad person.

"If this is the way it's going to keep going, it's not somewhere I want to be.

Surely this could all have been decided yesterday, when Toro Rosso made their appeal

 

 

BBC 5Live's David Croft

 

"I had a good weekend, I didn't put a foot wrong. I didn't do anything to put anyone else in danger.

"I just think it's a real shame for the sport. Formula One is supposed to be about hard, fair competition.

"That's what I've tried to do this year, just be fair."

BBC 5Live's David Croft F1 correspondent has questioned why the ruling was so long in coming.

He said: "The three-man panel studied the new evidence and decided it added little to their original film.

"So why the delay? Surely this could all have been decided yesterday, when Toro Rosso made their appeal.

"To leave it 24 hours before interviewing the drivers, keeping Hamilton in particular in limbo on such a critical weekend, appears unnecessary at the very least.

"It is situations like this that have left the British driver frustrated by the politics of F1."