BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Fernando Alonso was dropped from the pole of the Hungarian Grand Prix and will start sixth after a ruling Saturday by world motor sport's governing body.
FIA overruled stewards and determined that the two-time defending Formula One champion and his McLaren team had delayed teammate Lewis Hamilton during a pit stop and denied him a chance to make another qualifying run.
FIA also ruled that any points McLaren earns in Sunday's 70-lap race will only count toward the driver standings -- and not the constructors championship.
Hamilton, who leads Alonso in the driver standings 70-68, was second in qualifying and will take the pole.
He had questioned McLaren's tactics after a lengthy pit stop, resulting in McLaren team boss Ron Dennis, Alonso and Hamilton all being called in for an investigation by FIA and race stewards.
The stewards went ahead and sanctioned the qualifying placings -- with Alonso first and Hamilton second -- but one hour later FIA issued a statement overturning the results and penalizing Alonso.
FIA's statement said that McLaren kept Alonso stationary for 20 seconds after the completion of a tire change and "therefore delayed Hamilton's own pit stop."
"The actions of the team in the final minutes of qualifying are considered prejudicial to the interests of the competition and to the interests of motor sport generally," the statement said. "The penalty to be applied is that such points [if any] in the Formula One constructors championship as accrue to the team as a result of their participation in the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix will be withdrawn."
McLaren leads the constructor standings with 138 points to 111 for Ferrari.
McLaren said it intends to appeal the ban on earning constructor points. The team has 48 hours after the race to present its case to FIA's court of appeal. It cannot appeal Alonso's relegation.
Alonso was denied his 17th career pole. Hamilton claims his fourth in his rookie F1 season. Nick Heidfeld of BMW-Sauber will start second and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari moves up to third.
Hamilton said the delay in the pits -- when Alonso appeared to be waiting for no reason -- cost him a chance to make another attempt at a fast lap.
"[Alonso] was told to stop and wait. His wheels were on, the [wheel] blankets were off and he was told to wait," Hamilton said after qualifying. "I lost half a minute from my in-lap, coming to the last corner and waiting behind Fernando. It does need a good explanation."
TV replays showed Alonso waiting after the tire change at least 10 seconds after he was cleared to leave before he drove out. Hamilton was waiting behind him with 1 minute, 48 seconds left in qualifying.
"Because of the delay caused by Alonso, Hamilton was unable to complete his pit stop in time sufficient to enable him also to complete a flying lap," the FIA statement said.
Alonso said he didn't intentionally delay Hamilton, but was just following team instructions in the pit.
"They do the calculations, they find the gaps and I just drive the car," Alonso said. "I'm always ready to go. As soon as they put on the tires, I go where I have to go. Every qualifying we do this stop and we wait. Sometimes 10 seconds, sometimes five, sometimes 45, as it was in the stop today."
Earlier this year, McLaren's tactics were questioned at the Monaco GP when Hamilton was told to "hold position" in second place behind Alonso rather than bid for victory as the McLarens went 1-2.
Dennis has previously said that his team is under extra pressure because of the rivalry between the two McLaren drivers.
"There are definite pressures in the team, we make no secret of it," Dennis said. "They are very competitive, they both want to win and we are doing our very hardest to balance out these pressures. ... Today, we were part of a process that didn't work and the end result is more pressure on the team."
Felipe Massa of Ferrari, who has had four poles this season and the fastest time in morning practice, finished 14th in qualifying in 1:21.021. His team had to scramble and push his car back to the garage before his final run after Massa had stopped in the pit lane.
"There was a misunderstanding over refueling and they let me go without fuel. That's why I stopped," Massa said.
Ferrari and McLaren have won all 10 races this season, with Alonso and Raikkonen having three wins apiece, and Hamilton and Massa getting two each.
Massa has 59 points for third place overall, with Raikkonen in fourth with 52 points.
McLaren and Ferrari are also embroiled in a bitter legal dispute concerning leaked information and sabotage.
The main dispute began when a 780-page technical dossier on Ferrari cars was found at the home of McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan, who has since been suspended. The documents were allegedly supplied by Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, who was fired.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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