One year ago at Spa, I was quick to blame Fernardo Alonso for forcing Lewis Hamilton wide in the beginning of the race. This year at Spa, people are saying that Lewis Hamilton was again the "victim" when he received a 25 sec penalty. Only this time, I can't agree.

I am not here to discuss the rules. I am not here to discuss if the stewards and Kimi Raikkonen have done anything right or wrong. FIA's bias towards Ferrari has been so obvious that it doesn't require proof at all. (Don't get me started on that!) I am here to share my opinion that Lewis Hamilton has himself done everything wrong and I actually think a penalty is good for him. He needs some lessons.

Once it began to rain, Lewis was catching Kimi fast. The speed advantage he had over Kimi was very obvious. There was no need to hurry and you did not take half chances that you knew were only going to ruin your real chances. Hamilton's overtaking on the straight was not complete. Although he put half his car in front, once the pair turned into the right-hander, Hamilton's McLaren was behind the Ferrari. My view is that Kimi had every right to cover the racing line and Lewis had had his chance to lift. He didn't. I didn't blame him for that because he had managed to avoid a collision by going out, which was good.

If he knew what he was doing, Lewis should have slowed down and rejoined the track behind Kimi. But he meant to use the shortcut to his advantage and came out in front. Only then he knew he had to drop back behind Kimi, which he did. But then, within a split second, he overtook Kimi again, which was the worst thing to do.

Imagine you are in a football match. Your team has an injured player and your opponent kicks the ball out so your teammate can receive medical attention. You throw the ball back to your opponent in the resulting throw-in, but another of your teammate is right behind your opponent ready to tackle. How the referee reacts to that is not important to me. It is not going to affect how I think of your team. It is not going to help your reputation.

You would have thought that Lewis has learned a lesson last year in Brazil, knowing what chances to take and what non-chances not to take. But as the championship fight is getting tight, he seems to be losing his head again. He needs some lessons, and it is important that he learns from them. God gifted Formula One a rare talent and it is important that we, F1 fans and Hamilton's fans alike, prevent Lewis from becoming another Ayrton Senna. Why should we be satisfied with a mediocre performance like this and not urge for classier driving and cleaner display of his talent from a potential future world champion? I think Ron should withdraw the appeal, talk to Lewis, learn their lesson and move on with it.

Support Sir Stewart. Max must step down!
Alain Prost Grand Prix Homepage agrees with Sir Jackie Stewart's criticism of the spygate verdict. Max Mosley's cheap response, calling the sport's most respected figure Sir Stewart "a certified halfwit", showed that he had completely lost control of himself, never mind the running of F1. Max must step down!