FIA shares why Lewis Hamilton didn’t get punished for a scary pit-lane moment
For the second race in a row, Lewis Hamilton kept his finishing spot after the FIA cleared him following a post-race check into a collision with a team member during the Belgian Grand Prix.
Since no penalty was given, the seven-time F1 world champ finished fourth at the Spa track, just behind Max Verstappen, his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
However, Hamilton had two tricky moments in a race that was tough for the Ferrari driver.
Right in the first lap, Hamilton bumped into fellow Brit George Russell. The FIA looked into it and fined Ferrari 30,000 Euros—though 10,000 Euros of that was suspended for a year. Hamilton said over the team radio, “The car crossed in front of me. I was right behind another car, so I had no front end.”
Russell, who crashed out and lost important championship points, said he was “totally swallowed up down the straight” and felt “very, very disappointed.” Hamilton got a five-second penalty that he served during a pit stop after the FIA decided that was fair.
Things got harder for Hamilton as he faced another FIA investigation. During a pit stop under virtual safety car conditions, Hamilton accidentally hit a mechanic with his front tire while leaving the pit box. The mechanic hadn’t fully moved out when Hamilton got the green light.
The 41-year-old showed instant concern, telling his engineer, “****, is he okay? It went green!” His engineer replied, “He’s OK, we’re all OK,” but the investigation continued after the race.
Hamilton, now second in the drivers’ standings, was relieved by the outcome. F1 analyst Bernie Collins told Sky Sports there was likely a miscommunication between the pit crew and garage, which caused the accident and investigation.
“That mechanic, with the blue tube, was working on the front wing adjust,” Collins said. “From the onboard camera, it seems the mechanic was told about the adjust too late. He tried to fix it late during the stop, didn’t finish, then just barely moved away from the car.”
The official decision was:
As car 44 (Hamilton) was leaving, a mechanic stepped into the path of the front right tire and fell but was not hurt. The team explained this happened because of a complicated situation: Hamilton had a five-second penalty to serve before work could start on the car. Another driver, Leclerc, was in his pit box, and Hamilton asked his engineer for a front wing change, but this wasn’t passed on to the super controller.
Hamilton served his penalty, then a team member said “Go” (to start the stop) and then “0.6 degrees” (for the wing adjustment). The tires were changed, the car was lowered, and the green light came on to go. Just as Hamilton moved, a mechanic with a wing tool stepped forward but didn’t see the green light because he was looking down at his tool. The team admitted releasing the car like this wasn’t safe. They said the late wing adjustment order, unclear communication, and the mechanic missing the green light caused the mistake. They promised to review their pit procedures to prevent this from happening again.
The stewards said it wasn’t Hamilton’s fault. They noted he stopped right away to avoid the mechanic. The incident actually slowed car 44 down, so no sporting penalty was given. But the team was fined because these kinds of errors risk mechanic safety. Part of the fine was suspended, provided the team reviews their procedures and reports back to the FIA.
Hamilton, who remembered a scary past incident involving a Ferrari driver and a pit crew member, explained how this happened and said it was more the team’s fault than his.
“The green light went on and I went,” Hamilton told Sky F1. “You’re looking at the lights on the left, not over there, so that’s mostly on the team. But as I moved, I saw him and stopped immediately. It reminded me of when Kimi Raikkonen hit and badly injured a Ferrari mechanic in 2018—that really shook me.”
Current driver standings after the race are:
1. Kimi Antonelli – 204 (Mercedes)
2. Lewis Hamilton – 159 (Ferrari)
3. George Russell – 154 (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc – 126 (Ferrari)
5. Lando Norris – 103 (McLaren)
…and so on.
Hamilton can now focus on the next race, hoping for a smoother day without any pit lane drama.