06 October 2023 , 21:34
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Lewis Hamilton avoided a grid drop for the Qatar Grand Prix despite a lengthy investigation after qualifying.
Hamilton was fifth fastest on the road at the end of the session. But it wasn't long before his result changed and the Mercedes driver was bumped up to third place after times from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were deleted.
But there was still the risk that he could move back the other way. Race control referred the seven-time world champion to the stewards in the first part of the session, accused of driving too slowly on a cool down lap.
More than an hour had passed after the end of qualifying before Hamilton was summoned to the race control building for a hearing. And it was another two hours before a decision was finally communicated.
But, eventually, it was confirmed that Hamilton had provided a satisfactory reason for going too slowly between the safety car lines. The official document from the FIA revealed that two Hamilton laps were among six investigated by the stewards.
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It read: "Most of the incidents were easily judged based on the video evidence and therefore there was no necessity to hear from the drivers involved. For one incident, the Stewards summoned and heard from the driver of Car 44 [Hamilton] and the team representative to obtain more clarity.
"All drivers concerned stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below 1:46.0 around the vast majority of the circuit. However, in all six cases the Stewards determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and in all cases they slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass while giving those drivers a clear track.
"The Stewards therefore determine that they did not drive 'unnecessarily slowly', and that evidently the reason they were above the maximum time was due to their appropriate actions and take no further action.
"However, the Stewards noted that in most of the incidents the fact that other cars were making a gap at the end of the lap influenced the drivers trying to maintain their delta time. The drivers are reminded once again that no car may be driven unnecessarily slowly and the Stewards will continue to monitor the issue closely."
So the Brit will start Sunday's race third after all. But he admitted in the post-qualifying press conference that he didn't feel Norris and Piastri deserved to have their times deleted for track limits violations on this circuit.
"I don't feel like we need to have track limits at this track," he said. "It's something that was brought in a couple of years ago and, yeah, Lando should be up here. When you go beyond the highest point of the kerb, you lose time so it shouldn't be the white line necessarily. But, anyway, it's not for me to decide."
Max Verstappen took pole position but was also investigated after the session. He avoided any punishment while Carlos Sainz was given a warning and nothing more for "erratic driving" which led to a near-miss between them.