Toyota faces an uphill battle to appeal its lost Melbourne podium, but the Japanese team does have a valid case to argue.

Jarno Trulli's third place and champagne celebrations became twelfth on the official classification, after stewards ruled he illegally overtook Lewis Hamilton behind the Safety Car.

The Italian had been running third when the Safety Car came out late in the race, but he dropped behind the McLaren driver in an off-track moment.

"Trulli took back the place under the Safety Car," said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh at the time of the investigation.

The stewards of the meeting agreed, promoting Hamilton to third, but Trulli insisted that he only passed the Briton because he had "suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road."

"I thought he had a problem," the 34-year-old said, "so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do."

The rules permit overtaking under the Safety Car in such circumstances.

The problem for Toyota is the inadmissibility of appeals for post-race 25-second penalties, because if the incident had occurred earlier in the race, the penalty would have taken the form of a drive-through, which is not subject to appeal.

Toyota snuck in its appeal through a loophole, by lodging it not with the stewards of the meeting, but with the local clerk of the course.

The team has two days to formalise its appeal in writing.

If it allows the procedure, the Court of Appeal would be faced with a difficult decision. Hamilton has been quoted by Speed TV as admitting that - after passing Trulli following the Toyota's off - he was then "told (by McLaren) to let him back past."

Hamilton presumably then pulled over and slowed, which would seem to corroborate Trulli's explanation that he only passed the Briton because "there was nothing else I could do."

D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM

 

Ahhh, the drama is back :-)

 

Does it ever go away.

As F1 Turns!

 

Even though Hamilton is my number 1 driver, I feel Trulli should not have had his 3rd place taken away from him.

 

F1 really needs to eliminate all ambiguity from the rulebooks. More racing less politics!

 

I hate the retroactive penalties! It's the 2nd biggest problem with the sport after having Bernie in power.

 

This is ridiculous, from the stewards' initial decision all the way through Toyota's "loophole" appeal. This doesn't sound like a sport; it sounds like a legal dispute. Regardless of how it turns out, it won't change fantasy points because the fantasy-site organizers only acknowledge penalties made "on race day" and not after. Sucks.

 

Guys, this happens in every class of motorsport. Its the way it works.