Formula 1

HAMILTON DOESN’T RECEIVE A PENALTY AFTER CUTTING TURN TWO

Published

2 years ago

26/09/2020

HAMILTON DOESN T RECEIVE A PENALTY AFTER CUTTING TURN TWO

Lewis Hamilton has been cleared by stewards at Formula 1’s Russian Grand Prix after a post-qualifying investigation into a track limits issue.

Hamilton went wide at Turn 2 on his first Q1 push lap – with the time deleted – but he did not adhere to the pre-event instructions regarding negotiating the bollards in the run-off.

Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, along with Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, were also investigated for similar transgressions.

Stewards concluded that “the driver left the track at Turn 2 and did not manage to re-join the track as defined in the event notes.

“The driver accepted that he had not followed the instructions and further he accepted that in a race there would be a penalty.”

As stewards determined that there was no advantage, as the relevant lap time was deleted, no further action was taken.

All drivers were reminded that a failure to negotiate Turn 2 as outlined in the event notes will likely result in a five-second time penalty.

WHY HAMILTON FACES POST-QUALIFYING MEETING WITH STEWARDS

Lewis Hamilton escaped Q2 drama to claim pole position for Formula 1’s Russian Grand Prix but faces a meeting with the stewards at the Sochi Autodrom.

Hamilton faced potential elimination after Sebastian Vettel’s Q2 accident and only narrowly began his hot lap after the session restarted.

Hamilton went on to claim top spot, setting a new track record, in front of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas.

But he must meet the stewards over an alleged failure to follow the instructions issued by the Race Director concerning the Turn 2 run-off.

Hamilton twice transgressed during the session and had lap times deleted in both Q1 and Q2 for not staying within the track limit.

Article 22.1 of Michael Masi’s event notes, which are issued to teams ahead of the race weekend, also outlines what drivers should do at Sochi’s Turn 2 if they go wide.

Masi’s instructions dictate that “each time any car fails to negotiate Turn 2 by using the track, and who passes to the left of, or has any part of the car over the first orange kerb element prior to the apex, or to the left of the orange apex sausage at Turn 2, must then re-join the track by driving around the array of blocks as indicated by the arrows before the re-joining the track at Turn 3.”

Hamilton did this when he went wide on his Q2 out-lap, having run straight on at Turn 2, but did not do this on his first Q1 push lap when he only narrowly missed making the corner.

Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, along with Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, must also face the stewards for the same reason.