Lewis Hamilton Penalized with Grid Penalty for the Monza Grand Prix
The driver Lewis Hamilton has been penalized with five positions on the starting grid for the Monza Grand Prix, Ferrari’s home race, after violating yellow flag rules during the qualifying of the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver was summoned by the stewards for exceeding the speed limit under yellow flags during the reconnaissance laps prior to Sunday’s race.
Unlike other F1 circuits, the lap design at Zandvoort means that the entrance to the pit lane overlaps with the rear of the grid.
To ensure the safety of those visiting and working on the grid before the race, the race director issued a note to all drivers and teams in advance, stating that double yellow flags would be displayed at the last corner to ensure that drivers reduced their speed “significantly” before entering the pits.
After reviewing the telemetry, the stewards determined that Hamilton had not reduced his speed enough to comply with the rules surrounding double yellow flags.Legend: Lewis Hamilton has been penalized with five grid positions for Ferrari’s home race in Monza.
The stewards’ statement indicated: “The data showed that the driver had entered the double yellow sector at approximately 20 km/h less than his speed at the same point during practice sessions, had reduced throttle application by the order of 10% to 20%, and had lifted and braked 70 meters earlier when entering the pit lane.”
“We do not consider a 20 km/h speed reduction in a double yellow flag sector to constitute a ‘significant’ speed reduction. Nor do we consider the speed at which the driver entered the pit entry lane to be at a ‘very’ reduced speed.”
“The penalty guidelines for such an infraction would normally entail a 10-place grid penalty in the following race. However, since the driver had tried to reduce his speed and brake earlier, we took it into account as mitigating circumstances and imposed a 5-place grid penalty.”
The decision, issued almost four hours after the race, came after a disappointing afternoon for Hamilton, who retired from the race on lap 23, after starting from seventh position.
The teammate, Charles Leclerc, escaped a penalty at Monza after the stewards deemed his collision with George Russell at the Dutch Grand Prix a racing incident.
Leclerc and Russell were battling for fifth position when the Ferrari driver lunged at the Mercedes on the inside of Turn 12 and they collided wheels.
The stewards investigated whether Leclerc had caused a collision and also analyzed whether he gained an advantage by going off track.
The stewards’ statement said: “Car 63 (Russell) and car 16 (Leclerc) were involved in a collision at turn 12. Car 63 was ahead of car 16 at turn 11. Car 63 lost position to car 16 on the exit of turn 12.”
“We are investigating, with the benefit of driving standards guidelines, whether any of the drivers should have done something different.”
“We also analyzed whether car 16 stayed on the track or went off it at turn 12. The available evidence was inconclusive as to whether car 16 went off the track. Both team representatives agreed that there was no clear evidence that car 16 had gone off the track.”
“Both drivers considered it a racing incident and that there should be no further consequences for either driver for the incident. We reviewed all available evidence and came to the same conclusion.”
