FIA Give Teams Ultimatum

So it appears the FIA and Max Mosley will be holding firm on their controversial budget cap plans after giving the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) until the 17th June to sign up for next season.

The list of participants for next year has been announced with just three new entries alongside Ferrari, Red Bull and Toro Rosso, who are contractually obligied to participate, according to Mr Mosley.

The rest of the season taking part this season have been included on the list of participants for next season and told that if they sign up 'unconditionally' for next year that they will be part of talks to discuss next seasons rules.

The teams themselves are wary, as they should be, of signing up without a new confidential Concorde agreement that restricts drastic rule changes without the involvement of the teams.

They want a longer 'glide path' down to the propsed $40m budget cap and are disappointed by the FIA's unwillingness to discuss on their terms.

I'd side with the teams on this one as they are likely to be trapped if they agree to Mosley's unconditional offer. Should they sign they will be unable to influence the rule changes, and if they don't they won't have a sport to take part in next season.

Brit Rule in Rain

Britain may be known for its rain; just as well, that Button was the man to take glory in a much rain affected Malaysian Grand Prix.

This was Button’s second win on the bounce; however, this was more of a hard fought victory compared to the hugely convincing win at Australia.

Button recovered from a bad start, where he dropped to fourth from pole, to win the Grand Prix after the race was abandoned due to torrential rain.

The Stewards and the FIA made the right decision in calling the race off early due to the heavy rain and the poor visibility.

BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld was second ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock to complete the podium.

Lying Lewis crept up to seventh to claim his first legitimate points of the season, well we will see.

In a surprising twist, the top eight will only receive half points to make the World Champion board look rather odd.

It was particular good to see common sense prevail for once as safety, and not entertainment, was the prime focus. The introduction of the red flag on lap 51 was welcomed, as it was clear that the race would not fulfil its allotted time.

Malaysia continued the dominance shown by Brawn GP this season and Button remains pinnacle of that.

Despite his poor start, where Williams’s Nico Rosberg, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Renault’s Fernando Alonso all sped past him, Button had the control and the speed to reclaim top spot with some impressive manoeuvres.

However, it was the strategy Ross Brawn implemented secured the victory. Button reaped the rewards when staying out for an extra two laps and producing the fastest laps of the Grand Prix. He made the most of that extra fuel that was on board to dazzling effect.

From then on, it was clear that there was only going to be one winner. When other cars were pouring into the pits to stick on the extreme wets, Button established a lead of 18 seconds, all by lap 26. This showed how ruthless Button could be when he is in the position to do just that.

It adds to his character that he is disciplined enough to handle a fast car in horrendous conditions.

Moreover, Ferrari’s poor season got from bad to worse. But don’t smile about it for too long; they will come good eventually.

Kimi Raikkonen, who showed good form in qualifying, was put on extreme wets too early and this caused him to finish 14th. With Felipe Massa finishing outside the points, the reigning constructor’s champions now sit last.

But this weekend, again, belonged to Button.

Keep those Brits proud, Jenson.

Lying Lewis or Holy Hamilton?

The fallout from the Australian Grand Prix continues despite the second round of the World Championship being well under way.

Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time in Friday practice but he is far from the headlines as more information is slowly revealed over the FIA's decision to disqualify Lewis Hamilton from the Melbourne race.

I fear this may well be another F1 scandal that us the fans will never know the truth of, as it's clear the press aren't even sure what is going on. The BBC report that 'Hamilton insists he is not a liar' and the whole report seems to show Hamilton has come out fighting in the wake of this latest scandal. However the headline on the official Formula1.com website reads 'Hamilton apologises for Melbourne mistake'.

So which is it? Hands up or gloves off?

Either way both stories confirm Lewis claims that he was told to 'withhold information' from the stewards by sporting director Dave Ryan, a man who is now suspended and facing the sack. The British World Champion insists that he is not a liar or a dishonest person. But unfortunately that would also prove to be untrue.

He told stewards in Australia he was not instructed by his team to allow Jarno Trulli to pass him, however radio transmissions have proven he had. Hamilton now claims he is sorry to his fans and the stewards for misleading them but still seems to believe he is not to blame.

"I want to say sorry to all my fans. I am not a liar or a dishonest person, I am a team player. If the team ask me to do something, I generally do it. This is not an easy thing to do, to step back and realise I was in the wrong. But I was in the wrong, I was misled."

Seemingly a good apology, until the last three words. Quickly and quietly taking the plaudits for honesty, then shoveling the responsibility onto someone else.

"I was misled." Maybe, but you knew the team's aim was extra points, and you knew it was wrong.

Time to accept responsibility for your actions Lewis, or this could be a very tough season.

Hamilton Stripped of Aussie Podium

Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of his podium finish and championship points from the Australian Grand Prix after a review by race stewards.

After initially finishing in fourth place at Albert Park he was promoted to third when Toyota driver Jarno Trulli was handed a 25 second penalty. A review of the decision has seen Trulli reinstated in third and Hamilton disqualified after 'new elements' of the investigation were discovered by the FIA.

A statement on the Official Formula One website revealed, “The Stewards have considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards."

The hearing was held at the Sepang circuit, host of this Sunday's Malaysian grand prix. World champion Lewis Hamilton left without comment, but a spokesman for his team ensured the driver is not at fault.

"Vodafone McLaren Mercedes understands that the Stewards made their decision on the basis of reviewing radio transmissions between the driver and the Team. The Team mistakenly believed that the radio transmissions had been reviewed by the FIA on Sunday 29th March 2009, and consequently did not believe it was necessary to discuss them with the Stewards on that date. Nonetheless, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team now regrets that it did not do so, accepts the Stewards' decision and will not appeal."

This decision is the latest in a list of decisions that have seen the FIA punish Mclaren and Hamilton. The team have found the FIA to be unforgiving of their actions since the Spygate scandal which tarnished the 2007 season. They were fined £50m and stripped of their constructors points for the season.

Hamilton was also demoted from first after the Belgian Grand Prix last season after he was adjudged to have unfairly overtaken Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. The Brit had cut the last corner after Raikkonen squeezed him off the track and immediately allowed the Fin back in front. Despite this, his overtake at the following corner was classed unfair and Hamilton was pushed back to second.

The third place in Sydney had been the silver lining on Hamilton's opening weekend which had seen him a long way off the pace of the front runners, but this decision now leaves him even further from retaining his title.