Lewis Hamilton slams FIA's 'poor communication' in response to fresh F1 probe

19 October 2023 , 20:30

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Lewis Hamilton slams FIA's 'poor communication' in response to fresh F1 probe

Lewis Hamilton criticised the wording of last weekend's FIA statement which announced it was "revisiting" an incident from the Qatar Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion was not punished for causing the crash with George Russell which took him out of the race on the first lap. But he was told off for getting out of his Mercedes and walking across the live track afterwards.

Fortunately, he did so unharmed. But the F1 stewards took a dim view of Hamilton's dangerous act and he was fined and reprimanded for what he did. That appeared to be the end of the matter but, a week later, the FIA announced it was "revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track".

A statement from the governing body read: " The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent Stewards hearing in to the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach. However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers."

The wording of the statement made it seem as though Hamilton was again being investigated and that he might be in line for a further punishment. But, speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix, the 38-year-old said that was not the case.

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" They've spoken to me and their actual point is – and I think it's important – that when I sat with them in the stewards' office I put my hands up and in the heat of the moment it was the wrong decision," he told the Austin press conference.

"What's important is to send the right message to younger drivers throughout the ages that it's not the thing to do. I apologised at the time and I think they were just looking at how to make sure that doesn't happen moving forward."

Asked if he felt he had been targeted for his status in the sport, he swiftly replied: "No, I don't think I was singled out." But he was critical of the FIA for the way it worded its announcement, adding: "Ultimately, it's just poor communication. I don't think what they said is exactly what they meant. What they mean is they are going to look into how they can tackle those sort of things moving forward to make sure it doesn't happen.

"If you look at, I think there was a karting incident recently where a kid was hit, so we really need to make sure that we're continuously focussing on safety and that's at the root of it. But I think they probably need to speak to their PR agent to do a better job."

Daniel Moxon