This is how close it is to an F1 race suspension

(Motorsport-Total.com) – It was five to twelve at Lewis Hamilton. The two points initially imposed on his Formula 1 superlicense at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi had brought it closer to a racing ban. The fact that the stewards recovered the points should give Mercedes driver Hamilton a sigh of relief. But there is still a certain risk.

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Lewis Hamilton currently has eight penalty points – suspension follows at twelve Focus

Because this year Hamilton leads not only in the world championship standings, but also in the “sinner list” of Formula 1, with eight points on his driving license. The problem: if you authorize all twelve points within twelve months, you will be expelled from the next race.

At least in the next few races, Hamilton shouldn’t be guilty of anything. Because only on November 17, 2020, two of your penalty points expire. Until then, each additional penalty point could be avenged.

Why Hamilton received his current penalty points

But why did Hamilton rack up so many penalty points anyway? That explains our current outlook. And consequently, four of the eight current points come from encounters with Red Bull driver Alexander Albon, in Brazil 2019 and Austria 2020. On both occasions, Hamilton caused a collision with Albon in the race.

In Austria, by the way, on the same day as Albon’s accident, Hamilton received two more points for ignoring the yellow flags. Finally there were two more points at the top, at Monza, because Hamilton had entered the closed pit lane there. And after Sochi it was almost ten out of twelve possible points.

Mercedes sporting director Toto Wolff is aware of the dangerous situation. Even before the Sochi penalty points were withdrawn, he said: “We know that we are very close to suspending the race.”

Horner is already joking about a possible ban

That in turn calls out Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who verbally puts his finger on the wound: “I don’t even know who the Mercedes substitute drivers are, but I think they would send them to the gym, just in case of falls. “.

In fact, Mercedes has nominated two substitute Formula 1 drivers: Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutiérrez, who have already competed in the Grand Prix.

Wolff, however, has other plans: “The point now is to just end the season without getting the extra points. Or at least be in a position to get the driver’s title before something like this happens again.”

Without blaming Mercedes

Since the violation of the rules in training begins before the start of the race, he wanted to refrain from blaming: “I do not point to anyone, neither the team nor the driver. Period.”

Overall, Wolff said in a first reaction, he disagreed with the verdict. Reason: “I’m not happy with the penalty because it is too far away. But you can disagree. I always respect the stewards in their work. In this case, however, we disagree.”

Even Hamilton himself did not understand the sentence the commissioners had initially applied to him. And anyway: “The penalty points that were generally spent this year are ridiculous.”

Hamilton Praises: No More Doubtful Actions!

Hamilton explains: “I am not speaking from my point of view, but from the perspective of the drivers. If you put someone in danger or cause a collision. Then of course you should get penalty points.” He himself did not endanger or injure anyone when he started the exercise.

“The bottom line,” says Hamilton, “is a ridiculous rule, but it is what it is. I just have to make sure I keep a clean slate going forward. I have to make sure I [den Sportkommissaren] there is no reason to give, not even a hint, for them to act. “

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He also sees his Mercedes team responsible for this, says Hamilton. “I guess we’ll look at the rule book and look for areas in which to set rules. Areas that have never been penalized before. We will try all of those. [Bereiche] find and arm ourselves against those we know. “

Verstappen defends Hamilton

Hamilton is backed by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who had already stated before the penalty points were removed: “I’m not sure if it is correct to award penalty points for something like this. If you cause an accident then it is something else. And Lewis had already received a sufficiently painful punishment. “

He’s very familiar with the situation, says Verstappen. “I know from my own experience, I had ten points or something like that. So I said to myself: stay away from the stewards, on the track. Meeting you at the hotel at the bar is not so bad,” he says. the Formula 1 driver and laughs.

Verstappen adds seriously: “At the next drivers meeting we will definitely talk about it. Let’s see if something happens. It’s always good to talk about it and communicate. After all, we know the big picture. And then we continue.”