Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali refused to crow about a Belgian Grand Prix victory handed to his team in the stewards' room.
McLaren star Hamilton had taken the chequered flag at the end of a frenzied race in Spa, only to be handed a retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty which demoted him to third.
The stewards felt Hamilton had gained an advantage in cutting the final chicane at the end of lap 42 of the 44-lap race, even though he swiftly handed the lead back to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
A dicey penultimate lap in wet conditions saw the lead change hands three more times before Raikkonen eventually spun into a wall, allowing Hamilton to take the win.
But the stewards opted to hit Hamilton hard, with the time penalty giving Felipe Massa the win, slashing what would have been an eight-point lead for Hamilton in the drivers' standings to two over the Brazilian.
Domenicali, though, knew he was in no position to gloat.
"I have often said the race is not over until the official results are published, and that was the case today," said Domenicali.
"As usual, Ferrari will not comment on the stewards' decision.
"After the race we were called to the stewards and we explained our position.
"We are very disappointed for Kimi, who had driven a great race and deserved the win, especially at this rather difficult time.
"But this result is obviously very important for our championship hopes.
"Now we must maintain maximum concentration and prepare as well as possible for the forthcoming races, starting at Monza (the Italian Grand Prix next Sunday) where we will be racing in front of our home fans.
"We will also need their support at such a delicate point in the season."
Massa was not allowed to comment on his fifth win of the season, instead simply describing the race as "very strange".
Raikkonen, meanwhile, was obviously dejected at missing out on what might have been a fourth successive victory at Spa.
The reigning world champion's winless streak now runs to nine races, leaving him 19 points behind Hamilton in the championship.
"I came here to win and I came close," said Raikkonen.
"In the final laps the track conditions were very critical, and unfortunately I ran wide, and when I tried to get back on track I spun and ended up in the wall, which was a shame.
"The arrival of the rain definitely did not help. In these conditions, if you are in front you have to be more cautious as you don't know how much grip you'll find in each braking area.
"That's how Hamilton managed to close on me and then you all saw what happened.
"It's the second race in a row I've failed to score points.
"Clearly the championship situation is what it is, but I'm not the sort to give up that easily."
No comments:
Post a Comment