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Hamilton, Trulli summoned by FIA

Lewis Hamilton and Jarno Trulli have been formally summoned to a fresh stewards inquiry to discuss what happened between them under the safety car at the Australian Grand Prix

As AUTOSPORT reported yesterday, the stewards have been reconvened to examine new evidence, believed to be radio conversations between Hamilton and his McLaren team, to clarify whether Hamilton deliberately slowed to let Trulli overtake him near the end of the race.

Trulli was handed a 25-second time penalty, in lieu of a drive-through punishment, for overtaking Hamilton for third place in the closing stages of the Melbourne race.

That dropped him from third place to 12th overall in the standings, promoting Hamilton up to the final spot on the podium.

Although the stewards ruled that Trulli had been in breach of the regulations, the Toyota driver has maintained his innocence - claiming that Hamilton slowed deliberately.

Speaking to Malaysia's New Strait Times, Trulli said: "The FIA really got it wrong in that decision. We have all the evidence, including Hamilton's admission, that I did not overtake him. He let me pass.

"Under those circumstances, Hamilton had a problem and he slowed down, almost stopping. And he allowed me to pass. There was nothing else I could do, but keep going, and in order to do that, I had to pass him."

Hamilton said in the immediate aftermath of the race that he slowed down to let Trulli pass him following instructions from his team.

The FIA has called the meeting under Article 179b of the International Sporting Code, which gives the governing body the right of review of events if 'a new element' is discovered.

The FIA has recalled Olafur Gudmundsson and Steve Chopping, stewards from the Australian GP, to the hearing with Hamilton and Trulli - which is to take place at 1pm local time in Malaysia. In addition, Malaysian GP steward Surinder Thatti will join them to rule if the decision to demote Trulli should be upheld in Malaysia.

Read Adam Cooper's in-depth analysis on why the inquiry has been re-opened

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