F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Whiting explains why Hamilton escaped penalty in Mexico

FIA race director Charlie Whiting says Lewis Hamilton was not penalised for cutting through the grass at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix because the race stewards did not think the Mercedes driver gained a “lasting advantage”.

Starting from pole position, Hamilton led on the approach to Turn One when he locked up, ran wide but remained in first place after rejoining the track.

Several drivers, including Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, were surprised the Briton was not even investigated for the incident, especially given that Max Verstappen was handed a penalty for a similar offence late in the grand prix.

“The principal difference between the two was simply in Lewis's case it was felt he didn't gain any lasting advantage, and in Max's case, he did,” Whiting said when asked about the stewards’ rulings during Thursday’s FIA press conference at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

“You can see Lewis makes a small mistake at the beginning, cuts across, gains significant track advantage but then sets about giving that back, immediately. We can see on the straight between Turns 3 and 4 he backs off to 80% throttle to give that advantage back.

“Then, about a minute later, the safety car is deployed and that advantage is gone completely. So the stewards felt there was no lasting advantage.”

Whiting adds that Verstappen should have slowed down in a similar manner to Hamilton after cutting through the grass at the same spot.

“If Max had done the same thing on the straight between Turns 3 and 4 he would certainly have lost a place, which is why the stewards felt that deserved a penalty, because the driver had gained a lasting advantage.

“That's the fundamental difference between the two incidents in the eyes of the stewards.”

Romain Grosjean column: Time for Haas to raise its game

Chris Medland's 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

FEATURE: What Rosberg need to do to win the title in Brazil

INTERVIEW: Fernando Alonso: Why F1 is no longer just for heroes

TECHNICAL: Under the skin of the Ferrari SF16-H

F1i Classic: Brazil 1991 - Senna's pain and glory

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

2 hours ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

3 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

5 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

6 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

7 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

8 hours ago