Ferrari racer Lewis Hamilton escaped a harsh penalty after being investigated for impeding Gabriel Bortoleto during Friday’s second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang. Hamilton was called before the stewards after Bortoleto was forced to take evasive action when he encountered Hamilton’s slowly moving SF-26 approaching Turn 9. The Audi driver was travelling significantly faster and was forced to brake and move away from the racing line.
The incident quickly caught attention after Bortoleto expressed his frustration over team radio.
What was Lewis Hamilton investigated?
During the Friday’s practice, the Brit was racing at around 80-85km /h when Bortoleto approached at approx 240 km/h creating a closing line of around 155-160 km/h. The stewards concluded that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded the Audi driver by moving towards the racing line. However, several factors worked in the Ferrari star’s favour.
Hamilton’s right-hand mirror was damaged, limiting his ability to see approaching traffic. Ferrari also didn’t provide a radio warning that Bortoleto was coming through. The FIA ultimately handed Hamilton a warning, which is the standard penalty for impeding during a practice session, which means that he won’t receive a grid penalty as a result of the incident.
Ferrari, however, was handed a €10,000 fine since the team knew Hamilton’s mirror was damaged and still didn’t provide him with an appropriate warning.
“The Stewards accept that HAM’s right-hand mirror was damaged, as confirmed by photographic and video evidence, and that he had received no radio warning from the team,” the stewards wrote in their verdict.
“Both team representatives stated that such warnings are not normally issued where the approaching car is not on a push lap. BOR also confirmed that he remained in control of the situation.
“Nevertheless, the Stewards considered that HAM unnecessarily impeded the significantly faster approaching car by moving onto the racing line at slow speed. The fact that BOR was not on a push lap does not alter that conclusion.
“The Stewards also considered whether the incident should be regarded as dangerous impeding. In particular, they considered the high closing speed as well as the fact that a driver, who is aware that one of his mirrors is damaged, should exercise additional care before moving onto the racing line. However, BOR remained in control and was able to avoid HAM.”
