Shock, outrage, furious anger. Gridcrasher rounds up the reaction to one of the most controversial grands prix in F1 history

“This is the worst judgment in the history of F1, the most perverted judgment I have ever seen. It’s absolutely unacceptable when three functionaries [the race stewards] influence the championship like this.”
Niki Lauda, former F1 driver, gets off the fence

“This is motor racing and if there’s a penalty, then there’s something wrong because I was ahead going into that corner, so I didn’t gain an advantage from it. We were still able to race at the next corner and I gave him his spot back, and I think it was fair and square, so I think it would be absolutely wrong.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren driver, quoted before he knew about his penalty

“This is racing.”
Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali, when asked about the Hamilton/Raikkonen incident

F1 circus hits Budapest. Grid Crasher is there

Lewis Hamilton exits the McLaren garage to begin his morning practice session.

More below…

McLaren star thinning on top. Here’s the proof:

The photo on the left was taken just two years ago. We know that since he entered F1, Lewis has favoured the shorter crew-cut, but you can clearly see from the pic on the right (taken yesterday during a Vodafone PR event before this Sunday’s German GP) that Hamilton’s hair is thinning faster than you can say “hair implants for one, please”.

Is this what wearing a helmet and baseball cap all the time does for your locks? Or is it just male pattern baldness - after all, dad Anthony is a regular cue ball.

Ayrton Senna’s ex-manager to manage Lewis

Anthony Hamilton is never far from his superstar son. Hamilton Snr. has played a huge part in Lewis’s development, but now it seems that father and son are set to cool their intense working relationship.

Spanish tabloid Marca reports that Lewis is about to hire a professional manager for the first time in his career. That manager is Julian Jakobi, who is best-known in F1 circles for having simultaneously managed Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna - no easy feat.

Lewis turns down Jenson’s triathlon challenge

At a Reebok event on Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton had claimed he was fitter than Jenson Button. Yeah, cause it’s not like F1 drivers are competitive freaks, so Jenson was not going to let that line lie.

At yesterday’s Silverstone press conference, Super Jens dared Lewis to compete against him in the Bath Triathlon on 27 July, with the loser coughing up £10,000 to charity.

The two British drivers traded verbal blows, with David Coulthard egging Lewis on from the sidelines: “He’s throwing down a man challenge,” DC said, in a blatant attempt to wind up Hamilton. “You’re turning down a man challenge? You can’t turn down a man challenge!”

Lil’ Lewis when he was even littler

Even back when he was 12 years old, it was clear that Lewis Hamilton was going to be a star. He had everything you need to make it to the top: talent (important, that one), a pushy parent, a freakish will to win, and a cocky attitude.

Best quote: “If my dad gave me advice on the track, I wouldn’t take it, ’cause he doesn’t know what it’s like out there.”

Yep, Lewis was right about that, as Anthony Hamilton proved recently.

McLaren star has no sympathy for father Anthony

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he laughed when he found out that his dad crashed a £330,000 Porsche. As we told you yesterday, Anthony Hamilton span and ended up in a kids’ playground, in a borrowed Carrera GT, just a few metres from his home in Tewin, Hertfordshire.

Lewis said: “I got dad’s email yesterday and I just laughed… He is not one to make mistakes. He is a very good driver but I don’t know what he was up to.”

Hamilton Jnr also admitted: “I have never raced him on the track. We raced go-karts together years ago but he was terrible.”

Charming. You do everything possible to help your son realise his dream to become an F1 driver, and that’s how he repays you.

Anthony Hamilton crashes into kids’ playground

Lewis Hamilton must be glad that he hasn’t inherited his father’s driving ability. Dad Anthony crashed his grey Porsche Carrera GT cabriolet (pictured above) into a children’s playground yesterday, just metres from his home - luckily, no one was hurt in the accident. Hamilton Snr tried to reverse the car back on to the 30mph road near Tewin, Hertfordshire, with no joy.

“He was really trying to get it out of there,” an eyewitness said. “In the end his wife (Linda, Lewis’s stepmother) walked back to the house and picked him up in another car. She came back a couple of times but we never saw him again. He was really embarrassed.”

Cruel irony is a fickle mistress.