Hamilton told to keep podium joy in check
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton has been told to keep a lid on his podium celebrations should he win the Formula One title in Sunday's Brazilian season-ender, according to McLaren.
Team boss Ron Dennis told a news conference at Interlagos on Friday that the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) had reminded them of the regulations before the previous Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton, the 22-year-old British rookie who has led the overall standings since April and is poised to become the youngest champion, could have clinched the title at that race had he not skidded out.
He is four points ahead of team mate and double champion Fernando Alonso and seven clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
"There are regulations that govern the post-race procedures," Dennis said. "We are in a heightened atmosphere of compliance, let's put it that way, and we were told to please make sure we strictly adhered to the regulations.
"They gave some examples of things they would not be comfortable with," he added, declining to give further details.
"I don't want to make a big issue of this," said Dennis. "It's just simple things they said we should be mindful of and would be inappropriate.
"I suppose their thoughts were (related to) the youthful behavior Lewis may have (shown) if he would have been in the fortunate position of winning the world championship."
However an FIA spokesman cast doubt on Dennis's assertion.
"There are very clear podium procedures which all the teams must respect but the rumors that any special instructions were imparted to McLaren are, I'm afraid, more than a little far-fetched," he said.
Dennis, whose team were fined $100 million and stripped of all their constructors' points after a spying controversy with Ferrari earlier this year, said the reminder was issued to McLaren's team manager.
"I'm cool and relaxed about it," he added.
