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It is pretty ridiculous that this "lie-gate" crap has taken over Formula 1. This would not be the first time in auto racing some driver was less than truthful with the press or race officials, and it certainly won't be the last. Now Adrian Sutil has suggested race is why this thing won't go away. Perhaps he's right.

We all remember the lies told by Michael Schumacher with respect to numerous things: the crash with Damon Hill in Australia in 1995, the crash with Jacques Villeneuve in Australia in 1997, that year his championship points were taken away, team orders, et cetera.

We all remember when Senna lied about not intentionally crashing out Prost in 1990, then admitting it after Prost's 1st retirement.

Nigel Mansell routinely told "interesting stories" whenever he tangled with anyone.

Lauda admits in his autobiography that he told a few lies to Ferrari management back in the 70s to get a larger retainer which first led to the team hiring Carlos Reutemann then Gilles Villeneuve. (It backfired!) He pulled the same crap at McLaren in the early 80s and ended up with a huge retainer when clearly his skills were on the decline. (That time it worked!)

Enough is enough! Lewis Hamilton is WDC. He deserves to be WDC because he is that good. He is also young, and bound to make some stupid mistakes which he has, but this nonsense is simply that-- nonsense!!

Would be nice but I don't see it happening any time soon.

Hope Sutil is wrong or it would be very sad.

I am mightily pissed off at Hamilton, because young people relate to young champions, and IMHO all champions should lead by example.............I don't give a bugga if they are polka dot coloured with purple race stripes.
Again IMHO, he put his pay packet before the truth.
As for McLaren..................................
I have teenage kids, I used to point to Hamilton, among others, as a demonstration of what hard work and commitment can achieve...................sigh

Oh please, lets not get carried away and start talking about race and colour

When Hamilton came into Formula 1 in 2007 he was treated like a hero and everyone was on his side. Then things started to turn against him but that was all due to his actions whether on the track or off it. He gradually went from being likeable to being arrogant. His over agressiveness on the track didn't win him any friends and his "I am the best" comments didn't win him any sympathy from fans.

And let me ask, what do you do with someone who comes to you and tries to gain an advantage by lying to you ? Let him off the hook ? Why ?

Is he such a puppy ? I don't think so. So why would a 24 year old man go along with his team and complain to the stewards that Trulli passed him under the safety car when knowingly he gave him the position.

And why did he insist again on the lie even after the truth was uncovered.

Sorry, he cannot blame it on his team and no one can blame it on his colour. He knowingly lied and did it twice.
Did anyone give a thought about the other guy who has just lost his job ? Is that because of his colour !!! Give me a break

And all this talk about McLaren being in breach of their contract, really! What about Hamilton ? He lied too, isn't that a breach of contract too!

I am not taking sides here, both are in the wrong and deserve all what is happening to them.

Once again, all this fuss is about McLaren having a slow car and Hamilton and Dad can't accept it. I think when the dust settles, Hamilton may realise that he needs a professional manager to handle his affairs.

A final point, remember a few years back, Honda were caught cheating with the fuel tank, they were banned for 3 races or something like that and their drivers just watched from the sidelines. There was not talk then about Button jumping ship was there. It is Hamilton and his managment who are making noises and it is better they stop complaining, face the consequences and get on with it.

It was quite possibly someone in the Hambone camp who played the colour card..................................yeah , I know that's a tad cynical

No one here is talking about race or playing the race card. Certainly Lewis Hamilton is not. It is just that since Hamilton is black in a sport where few blacks have excelled, he gets a more press scrutiny than the other drivers out there just like Tiger Woods. Adrian Sutil, who was Hamilton's teammate in the junior formulae, is just amazed at how this non-story just won't seem to go away and simply wondered out loud if race has something more to do with it.

As far as Hamilton is concerned, he has apologized to everyone save for the Pope by now for his part in the mess, so as Ralf Schumacher and Niki Lauda have said, it is time for this thing to die.

Check out this link:
http://www.newsonf1.co.uk/2009/news/04/ ... sies_.html

It is certainly getting nasty and isn't helping anyone but I doubt that it will be dropped before the hearing on the 29th of April. And once the decision is made then hopefully the whole episode will be over. Unless of course McLaren/Hamilton appeal!

JayVee wrote:Oh please, lets not get carried away and start talking about race and colour

When Hamilton came into Formula 1 in 2007 he was treated like a hero and everyone was on his side. Then things started to turn against him but that was all due to his actions whether on the track or off it. He gradually went from being likeable to being arrogant. His over agressiveness on the track didn't win him any friends and his "I am the best" comments didn't win him any sympathy from fans.

And let me ask, what do you do with someone who comes to you and tries to gain an advantage by lying to you ? Let him off the hook ? Why ?

Is he such a puppy ? I don't think so. So why would a 24 year old man go along with his team and complain to the stewards that Trulli passed him under the safety car when knowingly he gave him the position.

And why did he insist again on the lie even after the truth was uncovered.

Sorry, he cannot blame it on his team and no one can blame it on his colour. He knowingly lied and did it twice.
Did anyone give a thought about the other guy who has just lost his job ? Is that because of his colour !!! Give me a break

And all this talk about McLaren being in breach of their contract, really! What about Hamilton ? He lied too, isn't that a breach of contract too!

I am not taking sides here, both are in the wrong and deserve all what is happening to them.

Once again, all this fuss is about McLaren having a slow car and Hamilton and Dad can't accept it. I think when the dust settles, Hamilton may realise that he needs a professional manager to handle his affairs.

A final point, remember a few years back, Honda were caught cheating with the fuel tank, they were banned for 3 races or something like that and their drivers just watched from the sidelines. There was not talk then about Button jumping ship was there. It is Hamilton and his managment who are making noises and it is better they stop complaining, face the consequences and get on with it.

I agree totally that this is definitely NOT a race/colour issue...the issue is lying!!! But it is so easy to pull out the discrimination card when required.
Lewis needs to recognise that he has achieved one of his dreams but dreams don't always go the way you imagine and he needs to be accountable for his own actions. Dad is a liability and he needs professional help.

Greetings, Chaps.

I have purposefully refrained from commenting on this puzzling business until I could get a couple of things clear. First, what actually happened, and then, why?
Now this is not the last word on it, but I have read the reports in Autosport from most of those involved and it appears (1) that Lewis queried his team about passing Jarno when the latter had gone off the course because of the rain. They were under the S.C. at the time and Lewis wondered if he would get in trouble. Perfectly normal. McLaren tried to get information from Charlie Whiting and Race Control, but they were pre-occupied with the cause of the S.C. --the Vettel/Kubica snafu-- and, justifiably, said wait till the race is over, we'll sort it out then. (2) Meanwhile, Jarno got back on the course and approached Lewis, himself unsure what to do next (no one seems to have recorded or listened to Toyota's communications). When Lewis slowed markedly, coming off a turn, he passed him with ease. Lewis, according to the recordings, was obeying team orders to let him past. That's more or less what Lewis said after the race. As things unwound, though, it turned out that somehow the stewards got the impression that Trulli's move was unjustified and penalized him 25 seconds. Enough that he lost his podium. At that point, a sportsman would have protested that Trulli's punishment was unjust, especially as he had let him past. Lewis, of course, was, by then, out of touch where (we are told) he remained until the following Thursday. Now this part stretches credulity. In an age of instant messaging and internet communication several times a day, when virtually EVERYONE under the age of thirty carries a cell phone and is in touch 24 hours a day, HOW could ANYONE say THAT with a straight face!?! Even Michael Schumacher would be grinning when he did so. (Remember how he claimed he didn't park at Rascasse?!). Instead, pouty Lewis evaded Whiting and the stewards; mighty Ron refused to condescend to saying anything in plain English (his usual tactic) and the poor guy in the middle had to fall on his sword. End of story. What Lewis is upset about is that he has been made to look cheap and foolish. Well, who among us has never been cheap and foolish? What's that, you say, Ron Dennis?!?
What I hope happens at the FIA meeting is that the 'sentence' McLaren to putting a smily face decal on the nose of their cars for the rest of the season. I certainly think it will be bad for FIA, bad for racing, and bad for both Max & the dwarf to do any suspending. Not after what McLaren paid the year before last!
In closing, I'd like to quote a competitor and a sportsman, A. Newey, in a recent Q.&A. re: the diffuser fuss:

Question: But now you have to rethink the design of RB5 to take into account the Paris decision about the diffuser. Do you feel it's a shame you have to take a metaphorical hacksaw to your original concept for the car?

AN: It will certainly involve a lot of work! The challenge now is to try and integrate the new diffuser into the rest of the car. But I don't regard it as a shame, I see it as another challenge. Unfortunately, it will involve some more late nights! That's Formula One: you can't afford to sit around and feel sorry for yourself, you just have to get on with it.

So. Lewis. McLaren. And the rest: 'Get ON with it!'

Jim Watt

As we all should................

Julian Mayo wrote:As we all should................

Having said that tho, I have a horrible feeling in my bones, and the chicken entrails are twitching.
Is McLaren still on probation over "Spygate"???????..................If so, Uh Oh.

Can't see this topic being ignored for a while.

I tend to agree with Jim's penalty suggestion.

I wonder though what smiley. Perhaps

Might be more apt, perhaps.

Nice post, Jim!