Lewis Hamilton is investigated by the stewards for leaving a track and gaining an advantage after the Sprint of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The British driver finished sixth during the Sprint at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, after running much of the session in fourth place. During the final lap, he lost two positions to Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. Now, he is also investigated by the stewards for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The incident occurred at Turn 13 but was not shown on TV. If Hamilton receives a five-second penalty, he would still finish P6, while a 10-second penalty would promote Max Verstappen to sixth place in Canada.
Hamilton not penalized
After reviewing the incident, the stewards decided not to penalize the Ferrari driver. As a result, he will retain sixth place and also keep the three points he scored today.
In their verdict, the stewards wrote: “Car 44 was in front of Car 81 on the approach to Turn 13 and left the track, drove through the chicane and rejoined, in front of Car 81. However this incident differs from the previous incident in this Session involving Cars 27 and 30 in that Car 81 was not in an overtaking position on Car 44. Accordingly Car 44 was not deemed by the Stewards to be “defending” its position hence was not deemed to gain a lasting advantage, consistent with the Driving Standards Guidelines.”
Hamilton cleared in new investigation over alleged impeding on Gasly
Hamilton was then called to the stewards together with a Ferrari representative following an alleged impeding incident involving Gasly at Turn 8 during qualifying. According to the FIA, Car 44 is being investigated for a possible breach of Article B4.1.1 of the Sporting Regulations after allegedly obstructing Car 10 at 16:04 local time during the session.
However, the Briton has again avoided any further action. The FIA said: “The driver of Car 44 explained that he was under the impression that Car 10 was not on a push lap, and his team confirmed that it had the same opinion. The driver and team representative of Car 10 stated they did not consider this to be a case of “unnecessary impeding”. The Stewards therefore determined to take no further action.”
Hamilton starts fifth for the Canadian GP, hoping wet weather can be a factor. He said: “I’m hoping it is [wet]. I hope that levels us out to the guys ahead and maybe gives us a bit of a chance to fight with them.”
