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The Hamiltons: Like Father, Like Son

"Dad, how could you crash a car at 30 miles per hour?" That was the reply of Lewis Hamilton when Daddy Anthony Hamilton emailed his son about crashing a £330,000 Porsche into a children's playground.

In the same weekend, just hours later, Lewis Hamilton himself crashed into a stationary Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari at 45 miles per hour.

If it was any consolation, the young, talented Brit driver was at a slightly faster speed than his dad and was under the pressure of being in a race. However, there were no excuses for Hamilton's missing of the traffic light at the end of the pitlane, even if he claimed he was distracted by what seemed to be a tussle between Räikkönen and Robert Kubica in front of him.

"The rule is silly," he said.

"We are in the race - how can you see a red light at the end of the pit lane? But that's the rule and I accept it.

"I start ten places back in the next race. It's a bit harsh really. I didn't aim to ruin anyone's race."

While many fans were expecting an apology or admittance of mistake from the driver who was leading the championship up till that very point, they were left disappointed.

It isn't the first time that the traffic light in the pitlane has caused controversies in a race. Last year, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella were both black flagged from the race after failing to spot the red lights. While Montreal might be considering a makeover of the track in terms of resurfacing, they might really want to consider relocating the traffic light to a spot where drivers simply cannot ignore it.

Teams also have a part to play. They do know from history about the notorious traffic lights, so they should have warned Hamilton (and also Nico Rosberg, although he might have been distracted by the meelee caused by Hamilton).

Perhaps they should all take lessons from the one who benefited the most out of the mishap - Robert Kubica. Instead of staying in the pitlane to look at the mess Hamilton made, the BMW driver gunned his engine and went out of the pits right after the lights turned green.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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