Lewis Hamilton escaped with little more than a slap on the wrist after impeding Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto during second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, but Ferrari was left counting the cost of the incident with a €10,000 fine.
The seven-time world champion found himself in the stewards’ crosshairs after moving onto the racing line at Turn 9 while Bortoleto approached at considerably greater speed.
With Hamilton’s right-hand mirror already damaged and no warning coming from Ferrari, the Audi driver was forced to take evasive action as the closing speed exceeded 150km/h.
The stewards ultimately decided that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded Bortoleto, but stopped short of classifying the incident as dangerous impeding.
Hamilton avoids heavier punishment
The FIA stewards acknowledged several factors in Hamilton’s favour, including the damaged mirror and the fact that Bortoleto was not completing a qualifying-style push lap.
"The Stewards accept that HAM's right-hand mirror was damaged, as confirmed by photographic and video evidence, and that he had received no radio warning from the team," the stewards wrote in their verdict.
"Both team representatives stated that such warnings are not normally issued where the approaching car is not on a push lap. BOR also confirmed that he remained in control of the situation.
"Nevertheless, the Stewards considered that HAM unnecessarily impeded the significantly faster approaching car by moving onto the racing line at slow speed. The fact that BOR was not on a push lap does not alter that conclusion.
"The Stewards also considered whether the incident should be regarded as dangerous impeding. In particular, they considered the high closing speed as well as the fact that a driver, who is aware that one of his mirrors is damaged, should exercise additional care before moving onto the racing line. However, BOR remained in control and was able to avoid HAM."
Hamilton was therefore handed a warning rather than a grid penalty, while Ferrari was fined for failing to alert its driver to the approaching Audi.
Ferrari pays for the communication lapse
The stewards also weighed the circumstances surrounding Hamilton’s damaged mirror against the substantial speed difference between the two cars.
"The Stewards considered the damaged mirror and the fact that BOR was not on a push lap as mitigating circumstances,” they added.
“These were balanced against the significant speed differential, HAM's movement onto the racing line and the resulting need for BOR to take evasive action."
Ferrari’s responsibility was therefore central to the €10,000 penalty, with the stewards stressing the need for the team to exercise additional caution when Hamilton’s compromised visibility was already known.
The incident did little to overshadow Ferrari’s overall Friday performance, however, with Charles Leclerc topping FP2 and Hamilton finishing fifth.
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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur remained focused on the bigger picture rather than the timing sheets.
"Nothing really matters on Friday in terms of the leaderboard, but being fastest is no bad thing, so I guess at least an OK day," Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said.
"It will be a lot about track evolution as we try to anticipate how the track will be tomorrow, and it's a challenge for everybody. It will be a lot about [tyre] degradation, because compared to the previous events this one is on the huge degradation side. Race pace will be mainly based on degradation."
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