FIA to review Hamilton's action of crossing the track in Qatar
Formula One's governing body has announced that they will be reviewing a penalty given to seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for crossing the track after climbing out his Mercedes at last weekend's Qatar Grand Prix.
After making contact with his team-mate George Russell at Turn 1 on the first lap at the Qatar Grand Prix, Hamilton crashed out and was forced to retire from the race. Replays then showed that the seven-time world champion walked over the live track to make his way back to the pits.
The race stewards launched an investigation into the matter and Hamilton was given a reprimand and was fined £34,700 with half of it suspended.
FIA's statement from the Qatar Grand Prix 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 [Russell] 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 realised 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 FIA has now announced that they will be reviewing Hamilton’s track-crossing incident at last weekend’s F1 Qatar Grand Prix after admitting their “concern”.
An FIA spokesperson said: "The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix.
"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."
It is believed that the governing body will not impose a stricter penalty, but it wants to investigate the matter for a second time in order to set a precedent for the future.
