FIA to take second look at Hamilton's Qatar 'track walk'

Formula 1's governing body the FIA has announced that it will review an incident involving Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton that took place early in the Qatar Grand Prix at Lusail last Sunday.

At the start of the race, the two Mercedes cars collided going into the first corner and went off. George Russell was able to continue, but Hamilton was left beached in the gravel.

He extricated himself from the cockpit and walked away from this car, crossing the track as he made his way back to pit lane. Hamilton initially blamed Russell for the clash, but the walk cleared his head and he later apologised.

But while the safety car had been scrambled to allow marshals to reach the stricken W14 and remove it, the track was still considered to be 'live' and crossing it was therefore a serious breach of the rules.

Hamilton only just made it across to the other side before the lead cars came into view again and went through, as Hamilton continued to trudge along the side of the track and into pit lane.

• Read also: Mercedes say Hamilton-Russell collision ‘simply a mistake’

F1 rules state that while drivers are permitted to cross the track, they must only do so "having first received permission to do so from a marshal".

The incident was noted at the time, and Hamilton was subsequently summoned to meet the FIA stewards to explain what happened. He was handed his first reprimand of the season, and fined 50,000 euros (half suspended).

However the FIA has said it wants to make a another look at the incident and the penalty imposed, in the belief that it was a more serious breach of safety rules than originally understood.

"The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix," a spokesperson confirmed.

“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," the statement continued.

“However in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers."

The original stewards statement about the incident said that the penalty "reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can cause extremely dangerous situations and the drivers have to be very cautious about it."

The decision to review the incident might have been influenced by a similar situation that occurred during the World Karting Championship finals at Franciacorta in Italy.

British karter Joe Turney pushed his kart back on track after being pitched off in a collision. He ended up being struck by another competitor, sustaining serious leg injuries as a result.

The new review is not expected to modify or increase Hamilton's penalty for the Qatar incident, with the FIA indicating it was more about setting a precedent going forward.

But on X (formerly Twitter), F1 commentator and sportscar driver Alex Brundle criticised the wording used by the FIA to describe Hamilton as a "role model" as being "unnecessary" and "clumsy".

It potentially raises the prospect that successful or popular drivers like Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc might be singled out for heavier scrutiny and harsher punishments in future.

This is the second FIA review into events at Qatar. On Friday, the FIA confirmed that it had received an apology from Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll for his behaviour after a poor performance in qualifying.

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