In the city of Austin, Texas, Mercedes’ Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton criticized the governing body of the sport for “poor communication,” although he did not feel personally targeted by their decision to review a penalty he received in Qatar two weekends ago. This penalty involved a fine of 50,000 euros ($53,000), half of which was suspended. Hamilton had crossed a live track without permission after colliding with his Mercedes teammate George Russell at the first corner.
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) later announced that they would revisit the penalty, expressing concern about the influence of Hamilton’s actions on younger drivers. Despite having already apologized and accepted responsibility for his mistake, Hamilton will meet with the FIA again in Austin.
It is unlikely that Hamilton will face a harsher penalty as a result of this review. Instead, the FIA’s main objective seems to be establishing a precedent for future similar incidents, although this was not explicitly stated in their announcement.
During a press conference at the U.S. Grand Prix, Hamilton stated, “I don’t think I was singled out. Ultimately, I think it was just poor communication. I don’t think what they’ve said is exactly what they meant. I think what they mean is they are just going to look into how they can tackle those sorts of things moving forwards to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Hamilton further emphasized the importance of safety in the sport, citing a recent karting incident involving a child being hit. He expressed the need for continuous attention to safety measures, saying, “But I just think they probably need to speak to their PR agent to do a better job.”
The currency conversion rate at the time was $1 = 0.9452 euros.
Reporting on this story was done by Alan Baldwin in London, with editing by Ed Osmond.
