Britain’s Lewis Hamilton wants to win the world championship on the race track, not in the appeal court, and says it would be “a bit cruel” if Raikkonen lost the title because of McLaren’s protest.
Hamilton’s team are appealing against the decision not to punish three drivers who finished ahead of the 22-year-old for fuel irregularities during the race. Success could hand the world title to Hamilton.
But he seemed less than enthusiastic about the idea, which has also been condemned by his team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Talking to Reuters about the appeal, Hamilton said: “I heard about it, but I don’t know anything about it. I don’t believe that I will be promoted up the order.
“I want to win on the track. Being promoted after some people have been thrown out is not the way I want to win it.
“It would feel weird after Kimi did such a fantastic job in the last two races and won on Sunday. Having it taken away would be a bit cruel and probably not good for the sport.”
He is also reported to have admitted that the fatal loss of power early in the Brazilian race that effectively ended his title hopes was caused by an error on his part.
Canadian newspaper La Presse quotes him as having said: “My finger slipped on the steering wheel and I accidentally pressed the button used for the starting sequence. The car went into neutral and I had to reinitialise the system, that is, reload the gearbox management program.”