Hamilton handed 3rd as Vettel fined and Trulli demoted
We reported that the German was actually handed his ten-grid penalty for the forthcoming Malaysian round, and a $50,000 fine, for failing to promptly pull his heavily damaged Red Bull to the side of the track.
In fact, the Sepang grid penalty was for his crash with BMW's Kubica with three laps to go, when stewards ruled that Vettel caused the incident.
"Should I have let him go? You always want to fight. Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life," said Vettel, who had been fighting with Pole Kubica for second place.
The $50,000 fine, meanwhile, was levied because Red Bull officials instructed the 21-year-old by radio to continue to race his three-wheeled car rather than pull it to the side of the Melbourne layout.
03/29/09 (GMM) Following a stewards' inquiry, Jarno Trulli has been stripped of his podium finish in the Australian grand prix.
The FIA officials ruled that the Toyota driver overtook Lewis Hamilton under the safety car, after losing third position to the world champion by running off the track.
Italian Trulli received a 25 second time penalty, dropping him out of the points. McLaren's Hamilton was promoted to third, with Sebastien Bourdais joining the points-paying positions.
In another stewards' decision, Sebastian Vettel will be demoted ten places down the Malaysian grand prix grid in one week, and pay a $50,000 fine to the FIA.
The German was penalized not for his late collision with Robert Kubica, but for failing to pull his damaged Red Bull to the side of the track when requested.