Disappointment for Lewis
Lewis Hamilton in interviews was already aware that he would probably face a penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri.
The Brit seemed down, so much so that he imagined starting in fifth position would push him into a race in “damage limitation” mode.
Read more Alonso’s adrenaline is back: “But the points are still out of reach”
And so it was, because the Brit was penalized by 3 positions on the starting grid. Despite acknowledging that Hamilton had not received the radio message and could not see her in the mirrors, he still damaged Piastri. Hence the penalty.
Hamilton, no mitigating circumstances
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), team representatives and examined video evidence, telemetry, team radio and in-car camera footage.
On the approach to Turn 1, Car 44 was proceeding at a significantly reduced speed on the ideal line while Car 81 was approaching on a fast lap (push lap).
Read more Budapest, endless qualifying: Antonelli also penalized, will start 7th behind Russell!
The driver of Car 44 explained that he had just completed a fast lap and had not received the radio message from the team regarding the approach of Car 81 until the latter was already at close range. He also stated that, due to the positioning of his car on the track, Car 81 was not visible in his mirrors.
Car 81, which was on a fast lap, was forced to take an evasive maneuver by going wide and was forced to abort the lap.
Add FormulaPassion to your Favorite Sources on Google
After examining the available evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during qualifying.
In accordance with the FIA F1 Regulations and the established guidelines on penalties for this type of infringement in Qualifying, the Stewards impose a three-place grid penalty on the driver of Car 44.”
Read more Leclerc: “I realized I couldn’t aim for pole position already in Q1”
