The penalty might be harsh, but the loss of Lewis Hamilton’s pole in Spain is just the latest calamitous mistake by McLaren.

That was the tone of the paddock’s reaction to the news late on Saturday that a McLaren gaffe saw the FIA send Hamilton from first to last on the Spanish grand prix grid.

The Sun newspaper called it a draconian “24-place grid penalty” imposed by the FIA after an “astonishing cock-up” by McLaren.

Hamilton was told on the radio to pull over after his pole lap due to a “technical problem”.

Sporting director Sam Michael argued ‘force majeure’, but the stewards ruled that it had been entirely McLaren’s fault that not enough fuel was put into Hamilton’s car to ensure a scrutineering fuel sample.

Writing in the Telegraph, Tom Cary said the severity of the disqualification “raised eyebrows”, but agreed that “McLaren’s mistake was horrendous”.

He said it has been “a season of errors” by the famous British team, who are yet to get Hamilton’s signature on a new contract beyond 2012.

“Hamilton must be seething,” read an article in the Daily Mail newspaper, while The Times laid out McLaren’s “catalogue of errors”.

27-year-old Hamilton’s “raw talent is being thwarted by mishap and cock-up,” said journalist Kevin Eason.

“McLaren are lovely people but how the hell do they get themselves in this position?” wrote the Mirror’s Byron Young on Twitter.

Even the non-English language media agreed.

“It was another great mistake by McLaren that could eventually cost Hamilton the championship,” wrote Livio Oricchio in O Estado de S.Paulo.

Italy’s La Stampa called McLaren’s fuel gaffe a case of “harakiri”.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport added: “It was error number 13 for McLaren since last year”.

While highly critical of McLaren’s own-goal, however, the feeling in the paddock is that the stewards’ penalty – although accepted by McLaren – was overly harsh.

“Back of the grid? Way, way too harsh”, said the Mirror’s Young on Twitter.

“Draconian penalty in my view,” agreed PA Sport’s Ian Parkes. “Dropping Q3 time would have sufficed.”

Sky commentator Martin Brundle added: “(I) feel they should have deleted that (Q3) laptime only which would have put him sixth”.

And excluding Hamilton from Q3 altogether would have put him 11th. Now, he will be “lucky to score a point”, Auto Motor und Sport predicted.

In the Independent, however, David Tremayne noted: “Welcome to the draconian world of F1.”

David Croft, the lead Sky commentator, said the FIA stewards had acted correctly.

“A good rule should be one that covers all eventualities with a penalty that acts as a deterrent which in this case is what happened.

“Too little fuel can’t be tolerated,” he added. “It seems harsh but had Lewis taken pole by one thousandth of a second, would it be harsh then?”

The Spanish fans – not Hamilton’s biggest supporters dating back to his spats with Fernando Alonso in 2007 – were happy.

Asked on the El Mundo website whether the penalty was fair, 76 per cent answered yes.

Found on the podium at Motegi and the victory at Sepang, Valentino Rossi has encountered more problems than expected this weekend at Phillip Island. At the end of formal qualifications obtained where only the eighth time is the third row are two aspects that have prevented the 9-time World Champion to do better.

First one still not optimal balance of his Yamaha YZR-M1 with a set up far from defined “optimal.” Secondly traffic and a series of unfortunate events that allowed him to improve on the grid for tomorrow looked forward to a tough race on paper.

“Today I was really unlucky, “said Valentino Rossi. “With the two softer tires to do the time I’m getting a good grid position. Before I met in trajectory Espargaro and Hayden, then it started raining and so I was unable to improve.

Start from the third row and will be a tough race, especially because we have not found a good race pace and we must work more on set-up. This evening and tomorrow morning we will try to find a solution to improve and have a good race.

The weather not only the ideal, this is a real shame because the track is fantastic and this cold you can not drive at its best, it takes several laps to send the tires up to temperature. I expect a very tough race, but we’ll see what we can do. “

For just 16 thousandths Marco Simoncelli was close today, the first row in the grid of the MotoGP at Phillip Island. A qualification encouraging for the Gresini team rider who has always gone well in Australia, winning the last two editions of the GP reserved for 250cc, showing fast even with the Honda RC212V MotoGP.

“I’m really happy because it has a few Grand Prix were following the second row and today I did for a while and even I could conquer the first! I am happy although I must admit that Spies in front of me, perhaps, is slightly faster. In any case, that’s fine so we did a good improvement from this morning and now we have to think about the race.

In conclusion Marco Simoncelli speaks of the wind and a tornado … or Casey Stoner, who has seen him turn a close today in official qualifying.

“Unfortunately the wind was quite annoying and I was in trouble especially when I was in my lap in front of Stoner and I honestly could not understand how she could go so hard. “

Sebastian Vettel roared the joy from his body as he had won in the qualification for the Grand Prix of Germany in pole position – to thin two thousandths of a second ahead of Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari. Impressively, however, was the lead over team-mate Mark Webber, who was fourth in 0.556 seconds behind.

“It will be interesting to calculate how big the distance of two thousandths of seconds,” the Red Bull driver. “The whole unit over Fernando was very strong. Ferrari is generally very competitive,” says Vettel, who feels vindicated in his prediction after free practice on Friday.

“It was very exciting. In the second qualifying round, I knew that we have a round, get it right. It was close, and therefore makes it a little more pressure to lose the ideal point of the tires and feel that you time, forfeit. My last lap was not 100 percent perfect. I went here and there something about the limit, but in the end it was enough to keep almost anything to get ahead and to the poles. ”

Of course it is to be allowed to go for the driver from Heppenheim of particular importance, at his home race at the very front in the race: “I am extremely happy. I will be at home for the first time on pole, but the main challenge to come tomorrow. We have here a very strong car and a very tough fight against the red cars. ”

After three pole positions in a row and lost starting duel at Silverstone hopes Vettel, that this time all goes well, “I think the clean side of the track as opposed to Silverstone this is worth something. Fernando and were I the last race surprised by the poor adhesion on the clean side. This should be good for us. ”

“We have a very strong car, it goes against the Ferrari to be very close. We usually have a decent speed in the race. It’s a long race, anything is possible. We start looking for a good job today of the best position, but the The goal is the next day. Today there is apart from the fact that you go to bed with a good feeling, nothing. “

For a long time it looked like it, as if Fernando Alonso at Hockenheim a bit faster than Sebastian Vettel, but at the crucial qualification was the German finally in the lead – albeit with a possible margin of only 0.002 seconds ahead.

“I think we have to be happy. We are now for the first time this season in the first row, which for us is definitely a step forward ‘ , the Ferrari driver, who can start the last time at the Hungarian Grand Prix last year from the first row.

“We were competitive all weekend, I have very great confidence in the car. I was the first, second and third qualifying round with the car very happy. At last we’ve managed a perfect Saturday.”

“Of course we have the pole position quite narrowly missed, but the points are not there tomorrow, Saturday. We must therefore focus on the following day. Following is a good day today, the aim is also a good day tomorrow to have. We will try to get some points tomorrow. ”

He had “not quite expect,” to be tuned as close to Red Bull: “We always expect that Red Bull in the third qualifying round is a bit more. We have already seen that it is in free practice approaching a very short, but third qualifying round, they are then far away. We were surprised that we were so close and could ultimately fight after ten races at one pole position. It took a little longer, but now we are very close. ”

And team-mate Felipe Massa was satisfied with his third place: “That was one of us a good performance. There was a very tough qualifying. In the third qualifying round, I could not get all the sectors together. I’m happy that I was back in third Qualifying round-am, and I now focus more on the race tomorrow. I hope we do well, and for the team and myself can get many points. “

Lewis Hamilton was not only on the qualification for the European Grand Prix with his third place easier, but after the race at Valencia, he was able to finish on the second position – despite a drive-through. This had brewed the McLaren-Mercedes driver as he overhauled the Safety Car irregularly.

“I think it’s just very, very positive, leading the championship,” said the McLaren-Mercedes driver, who lies at 107 meters by six points ahead of team-mate Jenson Button. “Both Jenson and I have worked hard all year, and the results show the efforts that each invested. It’s great to achieve those results, we can earn. Hopefully we close the gap on Red Bull and then they really . challenge ”
The situation with the safety car could have cost the former Formula 1 world champion much more: “I really do not know. When we riding around the first corner, I saw the safety car line. I saw that the safety car next to me and thought that I had passed it, so I kept going and that was it. ”

Turbulent it went straight to after the start, when he was in a duel against Vettel the front wing damaged, “I had passed clear to Mark that I saw for this reason, not where he went. I came through the first corner, and Sebastian was very close . I could see the available gap and tried it. I brake it and we went with the same speed in the curve. ”
“I was inside came through half of the curve. I gave him room, but we touched and broke my front wing. During the safety car, I came into the pits and the team did great work to change the wings and tires .

“After that, the speed was much stronger. I was able to put him under pressure. It was impossible to overtake him on that line, when the cars were within one second, even with the F-bay system. “

The qualification of the Grand Prix of Europe in Valencia gave one or the other team a surprise – it was a good or bad. Because compared to the last free practice session this morning there was held under ideal weather conditions Zeitenfahren some major shifts.

The pole position could be after a long losing streak of four races Sebastian Vettel. The German realized a personal best of 1:37.587 minutes. Secured second place team mate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton was third in the McLaren-Mercedes.
In the fourth place followed by Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica (Renault), Jenson Button (Team McLaren Mercedes), the two Williams drivers Nicolette Hülkenberg and Rubens Barrichello – identical with time – and Vitaly Petrov (Renault)

After the first qualifying part of the seven slowest pilots were ruled out: Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock (both Virgin), Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna (both HRT).

After the second pass the Zeitenfahren for the following driver had run ahead of Sébastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) and Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso).

The qualification for the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal was a real thriller – in the end Lewis Hamilton was in a time of 1:15.105 minutes of the winners. The McLaren-Mercedes drivers succeeded thus became the first driver to finish the series pole position of Red Bull, which in all seven races were previously in front.

Mark Webber placed in the Red Bull – who put on hard tires – in second place ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel. Behind: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Jenson Button in the second McLaren-Mercedes, Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India, Felipe Massa in a Ferrari, Robert Kubica in a Renault, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Nico Rosberg in a Mercedes.
At the end of the first part of qualifying parted, as always the slowest seven drivers: Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Jarno Trulli (Lotus), Timo Glock (Virgin), Bruno Senna (HRT), Lucas Grassi (Virgin) and Karun Chandhok ( HRT).

After the second round were the following pilots watch: Rubens Barrichello, Nico Hulkenberg (both Williams), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Sebastien Buemi, Jaime Alguersuari (both Toro Rosso) and Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) .

Full qualifying times for the third round of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series at Barber Motorsports Park.

1. Will Power Penske 1m 10.1356s
2. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 1m 10.6501s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m 10.6569s
4. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport 1m 11.0701s
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m 11.3557s
6. Takuma Sato KVRT 1m 11.4387s*
7. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m 10.6307s
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Autosport 1m 10.6903s
9. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m 10.7602s
10. EJ Viso KVRT 1m 10.7757s
11. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 1m 10.7760s
12. Mario Moraes KVRT 1m 11.5219s
13. Simona de Silvestro Stargate Works/HVM 1m 11.0262s*
14. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport 1m 10.7449s
15. Graham Rahal Sarah Fisher 1m 11.1495s
16. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne 1m 10.9524s*
17. Hideki Mutoh NHLR 1m 11.2855s
18. Raphael Matos de Ferran Luczo Dragon 1m 11.0507s
19. Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport 1m 11.5340s
20. Vitor Meira AJ Foyt 1m 11.1348s
21. Alex Tagliani FAZZT 1m 11.5669s
22. Mario Romancini Conquest 1m 11.6020s*
23. Dan Wheldon Panther 1m 11.6095s
24. Milka Duno Dale Coyne 1m 15.9800s
25. Bertrand Baguette Conquest 1m 11.9800s*

* denotes rookie driver