McLaren protest F1 result, fans have to wait

PARIS: Motorsport fans have a lengthy wait ahead before the drivers' championship is finalised after McLaren-Mercedes officially protested a race stewards' decision not to punish BMW-Sauber and Williams drivers for an alleged fuel infringement.

Motorsport's governing body FIA said Tuesday that they had been informed by the Secretariat of the International Court of Appeal that the UK National Sporting Authority had sent a notification of appeal on behalf of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

"The McLaren appeal is against the decision of the Stewards of the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, made at 21.35 hrs on October 21, 2007, that it was inappropriate to impose a penalty," FIA said in a statement.

Stewards had earlier decided that there was insufficient evidence to penalise the BMW and Williams teams for alleged fuel temperature irregularities.
 
McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who were leading the drivers' championship with 107 and 103 points respectively going into Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, saw Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen take the world championship with 110 points after his win.

Hamilton and Alonso finished on 109 points after finishing the race in seventh and third place respectively.
 
Had Williams' Nico Rosberg and the BMW drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld been disqualified, Hamilton would have won the championship as he would have moved up to fourth and would have received five points instead of two.

Hamilton however told British media Tuesday that he did not want to win the championship on a protest. "I am still young enough to win the championship on the track.
 
"I am sure the team had a good reason to protest the decision, but for us drivers the championship is finished. Kimi Raikkonen did a fantastic job in the two final races."

Earlier his team-mate Alonso had said that it would be very embarrassing if Hamilton won the championship as a result of a protest.
 
McLaren said in a statement released Tuesday that they did not suspect Williams and BMW of attempting to cheat. "The situation could only have arisen as the consequence of an operational error within the team on the day.

"Ultimately we feel that the FIA should determine whether an irregularity occurred or not."

They said they found it regrettable that the matter is so important and that the timing was such that it could decide the championship.
 
"The team wishes to win races and Championships on the track. However, if there has been an irregularity, which is not the fault of the team, we feel that the matter must be properly examined to ensure that the rules are applied."

They said that they would accept any decision given. "The team will fully respect the process and any decision that is ultimately given."

Should the protest go against BMW and Williams, it is not certain that Hamilton would automatically receive the points for finishing fourth. The teams could also lose the points they received only in the constructors' championship.
 
And should Hamilton be pushed up, it seems likely that Ferrari would appeal against that decision, so Formula One fans will, in all probability, have to wait a while longer before they know who the 2007 world champion is.