F1 stewards punish Lewis Hamilton after Qatar GP following George Russell smash

08 October 2023 , 20:34

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Lewis Hamilton was told off for walking on the track after his crash (Image: Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Lewis Hamilton has been reprimanded by the Qatar Grand Prix stewards for walking across the track after his crash with George Russell.

The Brit's race ended seconds after it started. He tried to overtake his Mercedes team-mate around the outside going into the first corner, but caused a collision which thrust his own car off the track and into the gravel.

Russell was able to carry on with just his front wing damaged. But one of Hamilton's wheels was ripped off by the impact and, beached in the gravel, he was out of the race.

The safety car was called out and, after climbing out of his Mercedes, Hamilton should have gone over to the marshal post. But he chose to walk across the live track instead and up the pit lane exit, because he was so close.

The race director took a dim view of that act and referred the incident to the stewards. After pleading his case, the seven-time world champion was fined and reprimanded for his careless actions.

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The reprimand is his first of the season. The initial fine was £21.5k, with another similar amount suspended until the end of the season and which will be payable if Hamilton is found guilty of any other acts of this nature.

An official document read: "After crashing out of the race in Lap 1, the driver of Car 44 abandoned his car in the gravel and ran back to the pits. He thereby crossed the track that was live at this time and reached the inside edge of the track just seconds before Car 63 arrived at high speed after exiting the pits. He then continued to walk alongside the track until finally exiting the track.

"During the hearing, the driver of Car 44 was very apologetic and realized that the situation could have been very dangerous for him as well as the drivers approaching. The Stewards reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can cause extremely dangerous situations and the drivers have to be very cautious about it.

"In addition to imposing a significant fine (which is suspended in parts), the Stewards also reprimand the driver bearing in mind that receiving a certain number of reprimands during a season will draw a significant driving penalty in accordance with Article 18.2 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations."

The stewards also took time to investigate the crash itself, for which Hamilton had already publicly accepted responsibility. For that, though, they felt no need to take any further action as they came to the conclusion that "no driver was wholly at fault".

Daniel Moxon