Lewis Hamilton has been handed a formal warning after a near-miss incident in second practice for the Saudi Arabian GP involving Williams driver Logan Sargeant.
Hamilton was driving slowly through turn 11 in an attempt to stay clear of Carlos Sainz when Sargeant arrived at the scene at full qualifying speed. The American was forced to take evasive action to avoid a huge accident.
"[Sargeant] had to take evasive action by going off the track to avoid a collision. Had that not been done, there would have been a serious, high speed crash," the FIA race stewards concluded after reviewing the evidence.
"Having listened to the team radio, it was clear to us that t[Mercedes] failed to warn their driver of the fact that [Sargeant] was arriving on a fast lap," the stewards' statement continued;
"That was a serious failure on the part of the team, particularly given the speeds on this circuit and the nature of turn 11, which is at the end of a series of high speed corners where driver visibility is impaired.
"We therefore issue a warning to the driver and impose a fine of €15,000 to the team," the stewards decided.
It was a generally unhappy day for Hamilton, who struggled or pace and ended FP2 with a worrying loss of power after going off-track, although he was able to get going again in time for practice starts.
However overall he was just eighth fastest in the final timings, compared to P2 for his Mercedes team mate George Russell.
"It was a difficult day," he acknowledged. "I was lacking a little confidence in the rear of the car.
"I had a few big moments out there and on such a high-speed track like this, you need to have full confidence in that. I haven't quite got that yet.
"The main issue I was struggling with in both FP1 and FP2 was still the rear," he continued. "We did some work on the set-up from session-to-session and changed the car quite a bit.
"George was clearly in a happier place with the car today. We went in slightly different directions so hopefully we can learn from that and find the right solutions.
"We'll go through the data tonight to see how we can improve."
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