FIA shares details of a thorough check on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari after the Barcelona GP
The FIA did a thorough check of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari after the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, as his car was randomly picked for inspection.
Hamilton celebrated his first win of 2023—and his first with Ferrari—by crossing the finish line first in Barcelona. This victory brings him closer to the Drivers’ Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, now just 41 points ahead.
During the race, there was a quick worry about a possible yellow flag violation when Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin broke down on the track. But after review, Hamilton was cleared and went on to finish strong, winning by 19.5 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
Hamilton is now aiming to win again this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
His win in Spain took a bit longer to be officially confirmed because the FIA randomly selected his car for a detailed inspection after the race. The FIA can check one car from the top 10 finishers at every race.
Luckily for Hamilton and Ferrari, the inspection found no problems. The team looked closely at the rear brake system, including the brake control software, sensors, and brake-by-wire system.
FIA’s Technical Delegate Jo Bauer explained, “After the Barcelona race, car number 44 was chosen randomly for detailed checks, focusing on the rear brake system. Both hardware and software were reviewed according to FIA rules, and everything met the 2026 Formula One Technical Regulations.”
This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix will start at 3pm local time (2pm UK) at the Red Bull Ring. There will be three practice sessions, and next week’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone will feature another sprint race.
Unlike in Spain, Hamilton will take part in the first Friday practice session this time. For the Barcelona race, reserve driver Dino Beganovic stepped in for Hamilton during FP1. This weekend, it will be Charles Leclerc giving up his seat for Beganovic, as Ferrari continues to fulfill its rookie driver commitments.
Each of the 22 full-time drivers across the 11 teams must give up their seat twice during the season for rookie drivers—those who’ve competed in no more than two full F1 weekends. Several other teams will also meet this rule in Austria, including Racing Bulls and Williams.