Mail On Sunday Reporter: 02:14 GMT, 13 May 2012
Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of pole position for today’s Spanish Grand Prix and demoted to the back of the grid – after
effectively running out of fuel during qualifying.
The British driver had completed his triumphant lap and was midway through a ‘slow-down’ lap when his McLaren team ordered
him to stop because of a ‘technical problem’.
The car was found to have just 1.3 litres of petrol after it was hoisted back to the pits – insufficient for it to have completed the
lap and then to have provided a mandatory one-litre fuel sample.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2143459-130E7BB9000005DC-574_634x411.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2143459-130E7BB9000005DC-574_634x411.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Stewards ruled the car was underweight because of the lighter fuel load and could have given Hamilton, 27, an advantage. McLaren
claimed that the shortage had been caused by a fuel-rig fault and had not influenced the result.
But the stewards at the Barcelona track took a dim view of the infringement and ruled the former world champion must start today’s
race from the back row.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2143459-130E24DA000005DC-12_634x433.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2143459-130E24DA000005DC-12_634x433.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of pole position for today’s Spanish Grand Prix and demoted to the back of the grid – after
effectively running out of fuel during qualifying.
The British driver had completed his triumphant lap and was midway through a ‘slow-down’ lap when his McLaren team ordered
him to stop because of a ‘technical problem’.
The car was found to have just 1.3 litres of petrol after it was hoisted back to the pits – insufficient for it to have completed the
lap and then to have provided a mandatory one-litre fuel sample.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2143459-130E7BB9000005DC-574_634x411.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2143459-130E7BB9000005DC-574_634x411.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Stewards ruled the car was underweight because of the lighter fuel load and could have given Hamilton, 27, an advantage. McLaren
claimed that the shortage had been caused by a fuel-rig fault and had not influenced the result.
But the stewards at the Barcelona track took a dim view of the infringement and ruled the former world champion must start today’s
race from the back row.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=article-2143459-130E24DA000005DC-12_634x433.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/article-2143459-130E24DA000005DC-12_634x433.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
