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(Reuters) – Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton accused the stewards of trying to prevent him from winning by imposing time penalties at Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix and said he would have to keep “squeaky clean” to avoid a ban on career.
The punishment, for infractions before the race began in Sochi, cost the six-time world champion the lead and the chance to achieve a career-high 91 wins.
The Mercedes driver finished third after starting on pole.
When asked if the punishment seemed excessive, he told Sky Sports television: “Of course it is. But that’s to be expected. They’re trying to stop me, right?”
“But it’s okay. I just need to keep my head down and focus and we’ll see what happens.”
Hamilton said he would have to check the rules after being penalized for practice outs outside the designated area on his way to the grid.
“I’m pretty sure no one got two five-second penalties for something so ridiculous before.”
“I didn’t put anyone in danger. I’ve done this on a million tracks over the years and I’ve never been questioned. So it is what it is.”
Stewards also gave Hamilton two penalty points, leaving him two short of incurring a mandatory one-race ban triggered by 12 in a 12-month period, but later rescinded them after Mercedes said the driver was acting on your instructions.
The stewards found that the audio between the team and the pilot confirmed this.
When asked if he really felt attacked, Hamilton told reporters that any team that ran to the front was subject to great scrutiny.
“Everything we have in our car is being checked and checked three times. The rules are changing, like the engine rules, a lot of things that get in the way of keeping the race exciting I guess.”
Hamilton said the stewards were handing out too many penalty points.
“It’s ridiculous the points they’ve been giving people this year in general,” he said. “I’ll just make sure I’m squeaky clean moving forward, don’t give them an excuse for nothing.”
The Briton received four on the Austrian Grand Prix weekend in July for ignoring yellow flags in qualifying and a racing incident with Red Bull’s Alexander Albon.
There were also two to enter the Italian Grand Prix pitlane after it had closed. The other two date from last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
Frenchman Romain Grosjean, in 2012, was the last F1 driver to serve a ban.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, edited by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
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