Hamilton escapes with fine for post-race seat belt breach

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Lewis Hamilton has been handed a €5000 fine by the FIA race stewards in Sao Paulo for a post-breach breach of the sport's safety regulations concerning seat belts.

Hamilton was ecstatic after clinching a huge win in Brazil on Sunday over title rival Max Verstappen despite starting from tenth place on the grid.

During his celebrations on his way back to parc ferme after the chequered flag, Hamilton was seen undoing his belts while still in the cockpit in order to take hold of a Brazilian flag to wave at the crowd.

Read also: Hamilton unstoppable in triumphant Sao Paulo victory

This was a breach of Appendix L Chapter III Article 4 of the FIA International Sporting Code, but the stewards looked upon it as a relatively minor matter addressed by a simple financial penalty and not anything potentially affecting the race result.

"The driver of car 44, Lewis Hamilton, undid his seat belts on the in-lap at the end of the race," the official statement from the stewards explained.

"While the Stewards are sympathetic to the desire to celebrate, it is fundamentally unsafe to undo the seatbelts while the car is in motion. Slow speeds in these cars are very fast for an unrestrained occupant.

"Further, Formula 1 drivers set the example for junior categories. It is critical that junior category drivers learn the importance of using all the safety devices of the car at all times."

The statement concluded: "The driver is fined €5,000 with an additional €20,000 which is suspended through the end of 2022.

"The suspension of the penalty is subject to compliance with Appendix L, Ch. III of the ISC during the period specified."

Hamilton's remarkable comeback victory against the odds in Interlagos means that the gap between himself and Verstappen in the drivers championship is cut to 14 points with three races remaining in the 2021 season.

Mercedes now have an 11 point lead over Red Bull in the constructors standings.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.