Fine and reprimand for Hamilton after Canada pole
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| Lewis Hamilton looks surprised when he learns of his penalty |
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton has kept his pole position after a post-qualifying stewards investigation in Montreal. The officials looked into whether the McLaren driver should be penalized after he drove slowly on his in-lap at the end of Q3.
The British driver was asked by his engineer to pull to the side of the circuit so that enough fuel was left in his tank for a fuel sample to be taken.
It has emerged that Hamilton was fined $10,000 and officially reprimanded, but the grid order for Sunday's Canadian grand prix will stand.
06/12/10 (GMM) Stewards are looking into whether Lewis Hamilton should be penalized for an incident at the end of qualifying.
The 2008 world champion achieved pole position in Montreal, but on his 'in lap' was asked by a McLaren engineer to stop the MP4-25 at the side of the track.
The radio call, broadcasted live on television, informed 25-year-old Hamilton that the reason for the stoppage was to ensure there is enough fuel in the tank for the FIA to test a sample.
"The FIA don't take kindly to you not having enough fuel to get into the pits at the end of the lap — they'll be taking a look at that," predicted BBC commentator Martin Brundle.
Allowing McLaren to get away with running Hamilton's car too light in Canada, which is a performance advantage, would set a precedent whereby cars are regularly fuelled to stop on the circuit after a final flying lap.
McLaren did not mention the incident in its post-session press release.