Lewis Hamilton retains his fourth place at the Belgian Grand Prix. However, Ferrari receives a heavy fine after the incident during its pit stop.
Read more Lewis Hamilton’s nightmare day continues: he hits a mechanic and faces a second penalty
Lewis Hamilton can breathe a sigh of relief. Placed under investigation after the Belgian Grand Prix for an incident during his only pit stop, the seven-time world champion ultimately keeps his fourth place at the finish.
However, the FIA stewards deemed that Ferrari committed a procedural error and imposed a significant financial penalty on the Italian team.
A mechanic hit during the pit stop
The incident occurred during Hamilton’s only visit to the pits, carried out under Virtual Safety Car conditions.
The Briton was serving a five-second penalty received for his clash with George Russell on the first lap. Once this penalty was served and the tires changed, Ferrari gave him the green light to leave.
At the same time, a mechanic was still trying to adjust the angle of the front wing flap. Hamilton then came into contact with him. Fortunately, the mechanic was not seriously injured.
A 30,000 euro fine for Ferrari
After reviewing the footage and circumstances of the incident, the stewards chose not to impose an additional sporting penalty on the British driver.
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However, they fined Ferrari 30,000 euros, of which 10,000 euros are suspended for twelve months, provided no similar incident occurs during this period.
The FIA also requested that the Scuderia submit, within fourteen days, a report detailing the new procedures that will be implemented to prevent such an incident from happening again.
Why Hamilton was not penalized
In their decision, the stewards considered that Lewis Hamilton immediately stopped his car after contact with the mechanic, thus losing additional time during his stop.
They therefore concluded that a new sporting penalty was not justified.
However, they emphasized that failures in Ferrari’s procedure compromised the safety of the mechanics, which justified a significant financial penalty against the Italian team.
Hamilton thus retains his fourth place at Spa-Francorchamps and the valuable points that allow him to climb to second place in the drivers’ world championship, while Ferrari leaves Belgium with a heavy fine and the obligation to review its safety procedures.
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