How is Bernie and the FIA going to help Clifford now?

A bit harsh that Pete, because what your saying in a round about way, is that we are all suckers.

Point 3 I'd say your on the mark IMO.

 

Not all of us.

 

If this is true then why did Red Bull attempt to mislead the FIA by trying to act like it was a mechanical problem?

 

I'd say they rolled the dice either way it didn't matter that much, they put vapours in the car hoping to get pole, if it did ok, but there was something not quite right with Vets car, so they went through the motions, and of course took the option to start from the pit lane, thus then they could get there mitts on the car and sort it out.

In fact I could go as far as saying even if they had started from 3/4th in Q with enough fuel for a sample, I reckon he would have ended up in worse position in the race or even DNF with a break down, all in my opinion though.

 

If for no other reason, I suspect that there were issues with Seb's car because he qualified slower than Webber.

 

Bingo

 

Sometimes the most obvious answer is the simplest.

Which is why it didn't occur to me until now.

 

LOL.
Am not sure but I think in Practise 3 Vets cars spent most of the time in the garage trying to get the brakes working or something.

 

That too.

Why go and ruin a perfectly good theory.

 

The level was the equivalent of a few teaspoons below 1 liter, which is the minimum. IMO, they stopped Vettel when they realized he would be below 1 liter once he got back to the pits. Then they could claim mechanical problems but at least they wouln't get busted for low fuel. Unfortunately they were off by just a bit and got busted anyway.

Either that or Seb got sick of reading on Fchat about how he can't pass and asked the team to arrange a pit lane start...

 

How does any of this constitute force Majeure?

 

The big picture here is Ferrari worked for 2 nights on their cars, and RB made changes starting from the pits. Whether there was cheating or not, both had a chance to make improvements. And I'd say Ferrari had the better deal due to more time and starting from 6th . Definitely not a conspiracy. I'd use the term 'legally cheat', which is exactly what both Ferrari and RB did with their respective 'controversial' issues. End of discussion. He he.

Now, what are your predictions for Austin? Who has the upper hand? Ferrari has it in Brazil, right?

 

It doesn't. And stop speaking French dammit!

 

La vie est dure
sans confiture.

 

Η ζωή είναι πιο δύσκολο Όταν δεν μπορεί να μιλήσει τη γλώσσα

 

That was the basis for the steward's decision.
Take it up with them.

My question stands.

 

If they were successful in claiming it was force Majeure (rather than they just under-fueled him), wouldn't they have been let off instead of being put at the back of the grid?

 

You'd think so.
Hence my question.

 

It was a bit more than just a few teaspoons short of a liter. IIRC, they were only able to siphon 850 ml of fuel out of Vettel's car, so it was short 150 ml, which equals to about 30 teaspoons. They tried to "cheat" and run low fuel, and it backfired on them. Lucky for The Finger, there were 2 safety cars deployed, and they took advantage of that. Other than that, I would say Vettel would have finished mid-pack, maybe just in the points.

I do have to give Jenson Button props, he held Vettel back as much as he could. Vettel was on way fresher tires, which were the options, and Button was on the harder tires. I think Button was the only driver that did not make it easy for Vettel to pass.

 

kudos to Jensen for that and also his skill in that corner he got passed by Vettel, Maldonado would have creamed him

 

Apparently Red Bull is moving around the fuel from and to the oil tank for better balance.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/112110350155/ferrari-reverts-to-off-track-weapons-for-red-bull-battle

http://www.totalf1.com/full_story/view/434358/Ferrari_queries_legality_of_Red_Bull_RB8_with_FIA/

 

The worm turns.

 

Sorry, I'm probably not following (typing in Greek takes it out of me...). My point was that there was no conspiracy. The FIA didn't put Seb at the back just to spice up the show and neither did RB try to get him back there to gain an advantage.

 

Ha! I put more than that many teaspoons of sugar in my coffee...

The "few teaspoons" comment was what was said during the broadcast and I went off that. But my point was with respect to conspiracies. They pushed the limit and ended up exceeding it (and were punished accordingly). Nothing more.