Niki Lauda has described the stewards' decision to strip Lewis Hamilton of his Belgian Grand Prix win as 'the worst in history'.
F1 great slams Hamilton reversal
Former Ferrari star and three-time drivers world champion Niki Lauda has described the stewards' decision to strip Lewis Hamilton of his Belgian Grand Prix win as 'the worst in history'.
The respected paddock figure and television expert has attacked the sport's ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA), and described the decision as "a perverted judgement."
Hamilton appeared to have extended his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship after winning a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
But he was retrospectively relegated to third in the adjusted result after the stewards decided that the McLaren racer had gained an advantage by cutting out the Bus Stop chicane in the closing laps.
The verdict after the race gave Hamilton a 25-seconds penalty for the incident, the equivalent of a drive-through penalty in the race.
After Raikkonen had crashed off in the closing stages, Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa prospered and was awarded the win as a result
The decision stunned the paddock and provoked hostile criticism of the sport's ruling body and their stewards, many suggesting that it had brought Formula One into disrepute and destroyed faith in the sport.
Pressure
Austrian Lauda said: "This is the worst judgment in the history of F1. The most perverted judgment I have ever seen. It's absolutely unacceptable when three functionaries (the stewards) influence the championship like this."
The decision was the fifth time this year that Hamilton had been penalised at a Grand Prix and came a year after his McLaren team were hit with a 100 million dollars fine for allegedly spying on Ferrari.
The team said they had lodged notice to appeal against the decision, but had no further comment to make as they now turn their attention to winning the next race - the Italian Grand Prix, at Monza on Sunday.
Team chief Ron Dennis said: "That was a sensational Grand Prix, which kept everyone on the edge of their seats, whoever they were supporting. On the second lap, Lewis made a rare mistake, dropping him to second place behind Kimi Raikkonen, who he put under considerable pressure thereafter.
"But our car is slightly superior to that of our opposition in slippery conditions, so when the rain came we were reasonably confident that Lewis would be able to press home his advantage.
"He duly took the lead, finished first on the track, but then received a 25-seconds time penalty. After the race, we registered our intention to appeal it."
He added: "We are now focussed on going to the next race in Italy to win."
