AFTER the Qatar Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton was handed a fine for crossing an active racetrack while the race was still under the Safety Car.
Hamilton had an early retirement from the race after being in a collision with his teammate George Russell in turn one on the opening lap.
The FIA initially handed the British driver a €50,000 fine – half of which is suspended until the end of the season – for walking on the track to get back to the pitlane.
Hamilton picked up a reprimand and had to pay €25,000 on condition that he doesn’t commit anything else that breaches the FIA rules between now and the end of the season.
An FIA spokesperson said to SkySports: “The Stewards reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can be an extremely dangerous situation and the drivers have to be very cautious about it.”
The governing body has re-opened the case by announcing that they will be revising the incident to give him a harsher penalty.
Despite the Mercedes driver apologising after the race, the FIA are revisiting the consequences of his actions because of his high profile.
Due to Hamilton being one of the most well known figures in F1, the FIA are concerned about the impressions his actions may have on younger people in the industry.
The FIA said to Sky Sports: “The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent Stewards hearing into the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach. However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”
The team now head to USA for the Circuit of Americas where Mercedes hope for a podium finish so they can get a hold of more silverware that they’ve missed out on this season.
“The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent Stewards hearing in to the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach. However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”
An FIA spokesman to Sky Sports
