mikeyg123 wrote:Fiki wrote:Quite simply, mikey, because they knew it was the final lap, and they had read the rule that said no overtaking.
Only when the safety car was deployed. Which it wasn't. Green flags clearly shown.
Whatever your biases RE the people involved
The fact that even a few years later people still disagree about the interpretation of the rule clearly shows how unclear it was and shows exactly why it had to be ammended post Monaco.
I think it is important to make a distinction between a potential for misunderstanding, and seeking room to twist the FIA's arm.
You say that the SC was no longer deployed, but even the SC has to follow the rules, which said that on the last lap it was to come in. Which it did. As per the rules, there was to be no overtaking.
I have also read what Brawn said about the incident, and he said that they received an instruction that the SC was coming in at the end of the lap. For him, that meant that the race was back on. Now, how could he think that, with the rule in place that there was to be no overtaking? It is important to note that Brawn didn't say he received an instruction that the race was back on, had that been the case, the FIA would have committed a massive blunder against its own rules.
Siao7 referred to an article by Andrew Benson, which I have also read now. His update is particularly interesting as it completely contradicts his reporting after the race. Interestingly, he initially speaks of the team managers calling the FIA to point out that overtaking wasn't allowed. Unfortunately, he doesn't indicate where he got that information - it might well be from the FIA itself, in the person of Whiting or the stewards.
Whether the fact that he speaks of the team managers, rather than racing engineers, is important, I can't tell. But the update itself is little short of making the teams look quite ridiculous. The three teams that supposedly told their drivers they could race, clearly forgot about the rule that forbids it. Two teams clearly read all of the relevant rules, and one team apparently said the drivers could
race but not overtake!
I don't know whether radio transcripts were available in those days, but for the interest of racing history, it would be nice to check what those teams really did say to their drivers. I think the difference between the initial report (1 team only) and the update (3 teams) is too suspicious to not to explore, if information is available.
My personal bias has nothing to do with how I read the rules. I will always be the first person to insist on the clearest possible rules, but in this case Brawn was overreaching. I wouldn't even be surprised if it wasn't Brawn who made the error himself.
Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.
Maria de Villota - Jules Bianchi