Hamilton retains P2 despite yellow flag infringement

Despite failing to slow down in the last qualifying segment, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton escaped a penalty which means that he can keep his second position on the starting grid for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Hamilton has been summoned to the stewards for two separate incidents following the qualifying session. The Briton was believed to have exceeded the track limits on his first run in Q3 while he was thought to have failed to slow down in yellow flag conditions on his last flying lap.

After the stewards heard from Hamilton and the team representatives and reviewed video evidence, they found out that the Briton exceeded the track limits defined by the Race Director in his Event Notes. Hamilton’s lap time set on his first flying lap in Q3 has been deleted, albeit it has not affected the final results as he clocked in a better lap time on his second attempt.

The 35-year-old driver’s P2 starting position has been under threat for a second incident, as well. While driving directly behind his team-mate Valtteri Bottas on his last flying lap, he failed to slow down and posted personal best sector time in the second sector. After hearing from the driver, the stewards have decided not to take any action against it.

„The driver mentioned that he passed a green light panel in turn 5. The video footage confirmed that there have been yellow flags and green light panels at the same time and therefore conflicting signals were shown to the driver. Taking this into account, the Stewards decide to take no further action,” the statement read.