McLaren in the clear over Monaco tactics

13 April 2012

McLaren boss Ron Dennis was handed an early 60th birthday present yesterday when his team were cleared of rigging the Monaco Grand Prix.

The FIA's investigation into last Sunday's race determined that stopping Lewis Hamilton challenging winner Fernando Alonso did not amount to team orders'.

Scroll down to read more:

Single track: Lewis Hamilton and Ron Dennis talk tactics in the paddock

The governing body said McLaren's pit-stop strategy and instructions to their drivers to ease off were legitimate tactics, especially given the imponderables of Monte Carlo's unique street circuit.

Dennis, who celebrates his birthday tomorrow, was within his rights to take Hamilton in earlier than planned to refuel because it gave McLaren the best chance of a one-two, the report said. With the safety car employed in four of the previous five Monaco races, the FIA's threeday probe said not to have done so would have been foolish'.

Of McLaren's decision not to let Hamilton fight for his maiden victory, the statement said: "It is standard procedure for a team to tell drivers to slow down when they have a substantial lead.

"This is in order to minimise the risk of technical or other problems. It is also standard practice and reasonable to ask the drivers not to put each other at risk.

"They did nothing which could be described as interfering with the race result."

For many, the outcome left a bitter taste for Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, said: "I think, like most people, the team result is of secondary interest to the drivers' championship."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in