Stewards admit yellow flags activated 'accidentally': Hamilton cleared!

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Lewis Hamilton was absolved from any wrongdoing regarding the alleged violation of a set of double waving yellow flags in Saturday's FP3 session.

The Mercedes driver was summoned to the stewards for a potential infringement of the sporting code which in reality never happened.

It appears the infringement was based on an accidental activation by the marshalls, for less than a second, of the double yellow flags, which begs the question as to why the alleged violation reached the stewards' office to start with.

"The Race Director reported to the Stewards that the double yellow flag warning on the FIA Marshalling System was activated at Light Panel Number 6 accidentally, for less than 1 second," stated the stewards' report.

Subsequently, no further action on Hamilton was taken.

However, the seven-time world champion is still under investigation for impeding Haas driver Nikita Mazepin in final practice.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.