FORMULA ONE - BRAZIL GP
BMW Sauber and Williams cleared
Monday, October 22, 2007
Grand Prix stewards cleared BMW Sauber and Williams of fuel irregularities. Kimi Raikkonen keeps title. MacLaren appeals.
Monday, October 22, 2007
SAO PAULO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was
confirmed as Formula One champion, pending an appeal, on Sunday
after Brazilian Grand Prix stewards cleared BMW Sauber and
Williams of alleged fuel irregularities.
Williams' Nico Rosberg had finished fourth in the race with
BMW's Sauber's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld fifth and sixth
but their results were called into question by doubts about
their fuel.
Had they been disqualified, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton would
have been promoted to fourth place, handing the 22-year-old
British rookie the title.
Ferrari's Raikkonen beat Hamilton and his Spanish team mate
Fernando Alonso by one point after winning Sunday's race at
Interlagos. Alonso was third and Hamilton seventh.
The stewards said in a statement, issued some six and a
half hours after the end of the race, that there was sufficient
doubt about the fuel temperatures "as to render it
inappropriate to impose a penalty."
However, an FIA spokeswoman said McLaren had announced
their intention to appeal.
It was not the first time that the Formula One circus had
left Brazil with uncertainty shrouding the outcome of the race.
In 2003, Raikkonen was declared the winner, only to have
the victory taken away from him days later and handed to
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.
In 1995 there was also a controversy, with Benetton and
Williams denied constructors' points for using fuel that was
regular but did not conform to samples approved by the
governing body.
The drivers were allowed to keep their points in that
case.
confirmed as Formula One champion, pending an appeal, on Sunday
after Brazilian Grand Prix stewards cleared BMW Sauber and
Williams of alleged fuel irregularities.
Williams' Nico Rosberg had finished fourth in the race with
BMW's Sauber's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld fifth and sixth
but their results were called into question by doubts about
their fuel.
Had they been disqualified, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton would
have been promoted to fourth place, handing the 22-year-old
British rookie the title.
Ferrari's Raikkonen beat Hamilton and his Spanish team mate
Fernando Alonso by one point after winning Sunday's race at
Interlagos. Alonso was third and Hamilton seventh.
The stewards said in a statement, issued some six and a
half hours after the end of the race, that there was sufficient
doubt about the fuel temperatures "as to render it
inappropriate to impose a penalty."
However, an FIA spokeswoman said McLaren had announced
their intention to appeal.
It was not the first time that the Formula One circus had
left Brazil with uncertainty shrouding the outcome of the race.
In 2003, Raikkonen was declared the winner, only to have
the victory taken away from him days later and handed to
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.
In 1995 there was also a controversy, with Benetton and
Williams denied constructors' points for using fuel that was
regular but did not conform to samples approved by the
governing body.
The drivers were allowed to keep their points in that
case.
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