Hamilton given clearance.

Down F0rce · 21 Jul 2007, 18:56 (Ref:1969332)

Good news! Looks like he'll make the show tommorow. The FIA Have the final say though.

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2007/...d-by-hospital/

BootsOntheSide · 21 Jul 2007, 19:42 (Ref:1969367)

Great news that he's unhurt, and I really hope he races tomorrow. Not least because it'll give us a real clue to how he can perform in difficult circumstances under pressure. Will he be able to overtake as fluidly as he did in GP2 last year?

JeremySmith · 21 Jul 2007, 20:06 (Ref:1969388)

Yes he will...

Patrick Fletche · 21 Jul 2007, 20:08 (Ref:1969391)

The problem here is a stictly medical one.
If you have 2 concussive events within a few days of each other then the effects are very bad indeed. Cumulative.
It is not about whether the driver is good enough to race, it is about whether he is exposing himself to a bigger problem.

nycuk · 21 Jul 2007, 20:10 (Ref:1969395)

Great news - can't wait to see him slice through the top 10!!

JeremySmith · 21 Jul 2007, 20:19 (Ref:1969401)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Fletche

The problem here is a stictly medical one.
If you have 2 concussive events within a few days of each other then the effects are very bad indeed. Cumulative.
It is not about whether the driver is good enough to race, it is about whether he is exposing himself to a bigger problem.

Did he have another off then?

Fish_Flake · 21 Jul 2007, 20:59 (Ref:1969420)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Fletche

The problem here is a stictly medical one.
If you have 2 concussive events within a few days of each other then the effects are very bad indeed. Cumulative.
It is not about whether the driver is good enough to race, it is about whether he is exposing himself to a bigger problem.

Lewis' accident was not a concussive event. If you watch the onboard footage of the crash, you'll notice that he began moving his legs up and down in the cockpit immediately after impact. If he had suffered a head injury, he would have been knocked out for a moment and visibly dazed during the aftermath, much like Kubica was after his shunt in Montreal. The concern with Lewis is within his feet and ankles; the team and the FIA need to be certain that he can adequately control the brake and throttle at race speed, and that he can get in and out of the car without incident if he has to.

RT · 21 Jul 2007, 21:19 (Ref:1969435)

He's not unhurt. The current assessment only means that there are no serious or detectable injuries within the timeframe and sensitivity of the technology used in the examinations. Remember Ralf's crash in Indy...when they missed a back problem??. I'm concerned as to why he was "testing" the movement in his legs and he did not jump out of the car. There's no reason to exposse him to the g-force strain tomorrow. He's starting ten in the grid and even in the best conditions, a win or podium would be unikely. He'll be going through a lot of physical strain that he doesn't need.

I wish he would take the race off. He's got a pretty good lead in the championship. This is not an all or nothing end of season thing. It may be IMHO, a better "investment" in long term health and performance to have him rest tomorrrow.

Kirk · 21 Jul 2007, 21:31 (Ref:1969453)

It was obvious only seconds after impact that Lewis had only one concern and that was his legs. There is absolutely no evidence of head injury, unlike the Kubica crash. Lewis will go, I have no doubt. And in doing so could well prove that all the hype is warranted. I say it is, and would not be at all surprised to see him on the podium Sunday.
Luckily and perhaps a larger concern, is what caused the failure!

BootsOntheSide · 21 Jul 2007, 21:46 (Ref:1969467)

I think the leg-checking was a precaution - Lewis probably knew as the car went off that it would be a heavy frontal impact. As long as he seems fine tomorrow morning, letting him race shouldn't be a problem. If there was no back pain there's no chance of a back injury, and he clearly wasn't concussed.

BAZzzzz c · 21 Jul 2007, 22:46 (Ref:1969507)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirk

Luckily and perhaps a larger concern, is what caused the failure!

Indeed. The last tyre change saw a problem arise with the right front wheel. A faulty airgun was blamed and a second gun was used to complete the change. Easy to be clever after the fact but is does seem likely that neither airgun had a fault and it was something to do with the hub or the nut etc. To allow the car back onto the track after the problem was unforgivable without ensuring that all was well. This wasnt racepace wheel changing, it was a qualifying session where arguably, the speed of the car might be expected to be greater than during the race, and to allow the car out after the problem arose, without a fuller investigation shows a disregard for the Safety of a Team Driver.

Gt_R · 22 Jul 2007, 03:13 (Ref:1969578)

I think Mclaren fans have enough on their mind than to have any charge of 'disregard for safety of driver" to be levelled against their team by others.

Don't doubt the integrity of Mclaren, ron wouldn't like it.

Thankfully, Lewis is alright. And he will be keen to compete to minimise the damage to his WDC lead. Mclaren would also be keen to mnimize losing their WCC gap. That will explain why Ron said something of "surprise' if FIA did not give Lewis the clearance, a subtle reminder to prod FIA to come out with a favourable conclusion for Lewis.

Not doubting Alonso's character in any way, but i'm sure this incident would have given him a small smile. Afterall, this is the sort of 'bad luck' that Alonso had always hoped for to befall Lewis -- nothing fatal, but enough to start at the back of the grid, so that Alonso would gain in points.

Bluewolf · 22 Jul 2007, 05:30 (Ref:1969615)

Great news that he's fine -- now to the race - I don't think he's just going to "Slice through the field" as someone suggested -- he leads the F1 championship and he has to be a bit on the careful side -- also - he's a rookie, and a brilliant one at that, and that can cause resentment from the veterens. Some of them will make it very hard on him and will fight like crazy to keep from being passed by him for position.

Gt_R · 22 Jul 2007, 07:34 (Ref:1969667)

I don't think Lewis will find himself in a lot of trouble. The Mclaren is very fast, and if Massa can climb from last to 5th in Silverstone, i think Lewis can easily do the same at least to 4th. Other drivers won't make it easy, but at the back straight and the first corner, a slow driver/car is easy meat especially when the car behind has better acceleration and traction, which the Mclaren has in abundance.

TWRv12 · 22 Jul 2007, 08:01 (Ref:1969680)

Lewis has been cleared to race

Marbot · 22 Jul 2007, 08:54 (Ref:1969705)

Link.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61038

**Adam43** · 22 Jul 2007, 10:03 (Ref:1969742)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gt_R

I don't think Lewis will find himself in a lot of trouble. The Mclaren is very fast, and if Massa can climb from last to 5th in Silverstone, i think Lewis can easily do the same at least to 4th. Other drivers won't make it easy, but at the back straight and the first corner, a slow driver/car is easy meat especially when the car behind has better acceleration and traction, which the Mclaren has in abundance.

It will all depend how the race unfolds; when are stops who does he end up behind. Massa made good progress from last, but that progress was slowed when he reached the top 10 and Kubica was a pain in the whotsit at the end.

Marbot · 22 Jul 2007, 10:14 (Ref:1969754)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

It will all depend how the race unfolds; when are stops who does he end up behind.

And maybe he can have a go at that overtaking thing that they sometimes do.

Will he drive for the championship or for the race?

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

Massa made good progress from last, but that progress was slowed when he reached the top 10 and Kubica was a pain in the whotsit at the end.

Massa or his car not quite capable of that overtaking thing that they sometimes do.

Should be an interesting race nonetheless.

Super Hans · 22 Jul 2007, 10:40 (Ref:1969770)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RT

I wish he would take the race off. He's got a pretty good lead in the championship. This is not an all or nothing end of season thing. It may be IMHO, a better "investment" in long term health and performance to have him rest tomorrrow.

By competing today he'll be showing bravery and determination to drive whilst in pain (for despite having 'no injuries', he'll be bloody sore). If he manages to reach the podium, it will be a heroic effort.

Isn't that what we want to see from our Grand Prix drivers?

Dutton · 23 Jul 2007, 05:57 (Ref:1970813)

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyn bott

Will he drive for the championship or for the race?

I do not think you can seperate the two things. The points in each race are worth the same as each other. Any driver that would do anything but have a go isn't really worth considering (IMO).

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Kent Valve clearance	kent_racer	Club Level Single Seaters	3	17 Jun 2007 12:16
Tappet clearance	StephenRae	Racing Technology	57	5 Feb 2007 10:22
ground clearance period e - f	esper	Historic Racing Today	16	13 Dec 2006 08:36
Ferrari - ground clearance?	Peter B	Classic Cars	14	23 Dec 2002 02:16