Lewis Hamilton, a renowned Formula 1 driver, has been penalized with five positions on the starting grid for the Monza Grand Prix, Ferrari’s home race. The sanction is due to a violation of the rules under yellow flags during the reconnaissance laps prior to the Dutch Grand Prix. The driver was summoned before the stewards for exceeding the permitted speed under yellow flag conditions while heading to the grid on Sunday. Unlike other F1 circuits, the Zandvoort design causes the pit lane entry to overlap 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, indicating 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 established for double yellow flags.
According to the penalty guidelines, an infraction of this type would normally entail a 10-place grid penalty in the following race. However, given that the driver attempted to reduce his speed and brake earlier, mitigating circumstances were considered and a 5-place grid penalty was imposed. This decision, issued almost four hours after the race, followed a disappointing afternoon for Hamilton, who abandoned the race after an accident on lap 23, when he was in seventh position. In another incident, Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s teammate, avoided 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 place when the Ferrari driver muscled past the Mercedes on the inside of Turn 12, with both cars colliding. The stewards investigated whether Leclerc had caused a collision and if he had gained an advantage by going off track. The stewards’ statement indicated: “Car 63 [Russell] and car 16 [Leclerc] were involved in a collision at turn 12. Car 63 had been ahead of car 16 at turn 11. Car 63 lost position to car 16 on the exit of turn 12.” The investigation analyzed whether any of the drivers should have acted differently, and also if car 16 remained on the track or went off it at turn 12. The available evidence was inconclusive as to whether car 16 went off track. Both team representatives agreed that there was no clear evidence that car 16 had gone off track. Both drivers considered it a racing incident and that there should be no further consequences for either of them. After reviewing all available evidence, the stewards reached the same conclusion.“We do not consider that a 20 km/h speed reduction in a sector with a double yellow flag constituted a ‘significant’ speed reduction. Nor do we consider that the speed at which the driver entered the pit lane was at a ‘very’ reduced speed.”
Race Stewards
