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Chinese Grand Prix comes to abrupt end after flag waved one lap too early Chinese Grand Prix comes to abrupt end after flag waved one lap too early
(about 1 hour later)
The Chinese Grand Prix came to an unexpectedly abrupt end on Sunday when an official waved the checkered flag one lap too early. The Chinese Grand Prix was, admittedly, not particularly exciting but it hardly required the drastic action taken by the man wielding the chequered flag who brought the race to a premature finish one lap too early.
The race should have ended after 56 laps but Lewis Hamilton saw the checkered flag waved at the end of the 55th lap. England's Lewis Hamilton was leading at the time and was as mystified as anyone by the turn of events. "I thought I was starting my last lap and I glanced up and saw something waving and realised it was the chequered flag," he said. "I lifted [the power] and lost about a second and a half but the team said: 'No, no. Keep going.'"
Under the arcane regulations that govern Formula One (article 43.2) the classified race results then had to be backdated to the end of the 54th lap. His Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, with whom he is going neck to neck for the world title, was 18sec behind him in second and Hamilton said: "If the radio had failed or something and I had slowed down and Nico came past, that would really have sucked. Thank God, it didn't. It was very, very strange. I was thinking: 'Am I seeing things?' But it was good to do another lap."
Luckily for the red-faced organisers the shortening of the race made no difference to the points scorers at the sharp end. But it did mean that Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi was relegated to 18th, having pulled off a last-lap overtake on Jules Bianchi's Marussia for 17th.
The race should have ended after 56 laps but Hamilton saw the flag waved at the end of the 55th. Under the arcane regulations that govern Formula One (article 43.2) the classified race results then had to be backdated to the end of the 54th lap.
The regulation reads: "Should for any reason the end-of-race signal be given before the leading car completes the scheduled number of laps, or the prescribed time has been completed, the race will be deemed to have finished when the leading car last crossed the line before the signal was given."The regulation reads: "Should for any reason the end-of-race signal be given before the leading car completes the scheduled number of laps, or the prescribed time has been completed, the race will be deemed to have finished when the leading car last crossed the line before the signal was given."
Hamilton said: "I thought I was starting my last lap and I glanced up and saw something waving and realised it was the chequered flag. I lifted [the power] and lost about a second and a half but the team said 'No, no. Keep going.'" Fortunately for Hamilton there was no disputing the winner. It was his third chequered flag, however controversial, in succession this season and leaves him just four points behind Rosberg in the standings.
"If the radio had failed or something and I had slowed down and Nico [Rosberg] came past, that would really have sucked. Thank God, it didn't. It was very, very strange. I was thinking 'Am I seeing things?' But it was good to do another lap." "I'm in the happiest mood I can remember being in," said Hamilton. "I can't believe how amazing the car is, and with how hard everyone has worked; the results we are getting are because of that. It feels incredible to get three wins. I have to shout out a big thank you, thank you so much to the team, for embracing me into the team and for all the hard work and them continuously pushing forward."
Luckily for the red-faced organisers the shortening of the race made no difference to the points scorers at the sharp end of the race. But it did mean that Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi was relegated to 18th, having pulled off a last-lap overtake on Jules Bianchi's Marussia for 17th. Hamilton and his team now head to Spain knowing that Renault in 2005 were the last team to win the first four races of a season: an omen perhaps, as Fernando Alonso – currently third in the standings – went on to take the title.
Meanwhile, the row between Red Bull and McLaren over the employment of the aerodynamics expert Dan Fallows looks set to run and run. It was revealed at the weekend that McLaren was planning a high court action against Red Bull after it re-signed Fallows to a new deal despite McLaren having a contract with him.
Horner said he was disappointed the matter had gone public and added: "The matter is now in the hands of the lawyers, but this is something we will defend vigorously. We don't see there is any case to answer. It's disappointing McLaren has pursued this route. Perhaps Ron [Dennis, the McLaren chief] would have been better giving me a call."
McLaren made it clear that it had contacted Horner more than two weeks before. "We formally emailed Christian Horner more than two weeks ago, asking him about Dan Fallows' whereabouts, so it's a bit rich for him to say 'Why didn't Ron call me?' now," Dennis said.
"Moreover, the point is that Fallows has a legally binding contract with McLaren yet Red Bull chose to ignore that and instead convince him to return to Red Bull."
It might be pertinent to point out that while Red Bull and McLaren are squabbling they are falling further behind in the championship. Red Bull did not win a podium place yesterday and McLaren did not even pick up a point as a rampant Mercedes team extended their lead to 97 points in the constructors' championship.
Horner added on Sunday night: "It's the choice of the individual. Nobody can be forced to do a job – slavery was abolished years ago.
"It's obvious why they're looking for aerodynamicists, but we have to be very careful that this is not detracting from their focus, which should be a little closer to home."