Formula 1: Hamilton settles with race stewards

As if that weren’t enough, Hamilton’s general criticism: The latest penalty points imposed by the stewards are “ridiculous”, their overwhelming Mercedes team is constantly being monitored and the rules are being changed to make the races more exciting. “You want to stop me, right?” Hamiton said. Race director Michael Masi also took a volley. “Are we on the same wavelength? I don’t think so, ”said the World Cup leader.

The cause of all the problems was the two-time penalty for the 35-year-old’s trial starts outside of the designated area at the pit lane exit, which cost him a pretty sure victory and ultimately gave him third place. “He had no advantage,” said team boss Toto Wolff. “There are rules that can be interpreted in two ways,” added the Austrian. Mercedes was especially angry that Hamilton received a penalty for breaking the rules before the race in the current Grand Prix.

“I’ve done this on a million tracks over the years and I’ve never had anything,” Hamilton said. As an apprentice, he and his team will now study all the gray areas of the rule set to guard against the arbitrariness of the commissioners he suspects. “I will make sure that from now on I stay flawless and give no more reasons,” promised the defending champion.

The chief engineer had a bad feeling

Meanwhile, Mercedes chief engineer Andrew Shovlin said at the time it was already known that the rulers would not appreciate Hamilton’s unconventional choice for exit exercises. Hamilton asked over the radio if he could start the trial earlier. He got the go-ahead from his crew.

“We didn’t realize how much he wanted to go further,” Shovlin said. “We didn’t see the first one (start, note). When we saw the second one, we already knew they weren’t going to like it. ” The Mercedes team thought that Hamilton would position himself a little closer within the allowed zone, so that the race direction could not issue a clear penalty. “But when we saw the position of the car, it wasn’t a big surprise that they didn’t approve.

Fellow drivers show understanding

Meanwhile, the competition showed understanding for Hamilton’s reckoning. “I told myself a long time ago that I would try to avoid the commissioners on the road. Finding him at the hotel or at the bar is not bad, but you should avoid his office on race weekends, “said Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel saw Hamilton’s offense only as a “minor affair,” said his teammate Charles Leclerc: “Lewis didn’t really do that badly during the year.”

The media reacted maliciously. “Is it possible that such a strong driver, a phenomenon like Hamilton, doesn’t know the rules? It’s possible. And today we had tests, actually two. So just one tip: In addition to weights at the gym, sometimes grab a book. At least that with the rules of F1 … “, scoffed the Italian” La Repubblica “. The Spanish newspaper” El País “wrote about a” slip of a beginner “.

There is almost no room for new rule infractions

For a few hours, it even looked like the Brit would have to serve a race suspension the next time he was raped. A sanction is unavoidable with twelve penalty points on the International Automobile Federation (FIA) list of offenders. Hamilton’s score had increased to ten penalty points due to the original judgment of the race judges, but after an objection from Mercedes, the two points were removed from Russia.

The team took responsibility for Hamilton’s banned start exercises and had to pay a fine of 25,000 euros. With another eight penalty points, the Silver Arrow driver also leads these stats and initially has little room for further rule infractions.

The six-time champion shouldn’t expect leniency at the end of the season either. “When Lewis wanted to talk about something, I told him, like all the other drivers, that my door would always be open,” said race director Masi, but immediately emphasized: “If you break the rules, it doesn’t matter if it’s Lewis Hamilton or one of the pilots another 19 drivers “.