Quote:
Originally Posted by crmalcolm
It is being reported that there is no clear agreement that a jack touching a car constitutes working on the car.
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First... I really would like to see Alonso keep the podium just because. It was a wonderful thing that he stood on the podium.
Second... I think it's insane to think you can touch the car (even with a tool) and it not be a problem. Where is the line here? Can you put a wheel gun on the nut, can you slide a driver into an adjustment for a wing?
IMHO, while gut wrenching, it was clearly an error by the team that should have resulted in a penalty. But it should have been called out at that time. Regardless of how the organizers handled this, how can the team continue to make the same mistake?
I was watching the pitstop live and I thought... That rear jack guy has placed the jack on the rear of the car! But I just figured, what do I know, I am watching TV and maybe he didn't.
This video was released a bit ago which I think does show it (pretty much as I watched on TV).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8kknvQyFyA
What do I think is happening? I think F1 is buckling under the pressure. They are using any "perceived" lack of clarity to effectively let Alonso keep the podium because that is what everyone wants. I fully expect there to be a "clarification for future races" that NOTHING (including tools) can touch the car while it is serving a penalty. As Teretonga says, there was a LARGE aggravating factor that they bungled the entire thing as well by not calling out the infraction when it happened. So Alonso and the team is getting a free pass on this one.
Richard