Zoom Massa agrees with the stewards

There is plenty of negativity about Lewis Hamilton's Spa penalty doing the rounds, but not all figures in the Formula One paddock believe the stewards were wrong to strip the Briton of his win.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa - the belated recipient of the Belgian GP trophy - and Kimi Raikkonen, who was on the receiving end of the Hamilton move, believe the McLaren driver was in the wrong.

"There are rules about cutting chicanes and gaining an advantage. I don't have anything (else) to say," World Champion Raikkonen said.

Massa, meanwhile, said Hamilton was "a bit too optimistic" in passing Raikkonen so soon after cutting the Bus Stop chicane.

He said the issue has often been discussed in driving briefings.

"It has been made absolutely clear that anyone cutting a chicane has to fully restore the position and also any other eventual advantage gained," Massa said.

"If Lewis had taken the chicane correctly, he would never have been able to pass Kimi on the very short straight that follows it."

Hamilton's former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, said the F1 world should accept the stewards' decision.

"In the end, what they say is always fair, whether you like it or not," the Spaniard told Cadena SER radio.

D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM