- Hamilton was outraged by the two penalties – five seconds each – for making trial starts in an unacceptable place on his way to the track in Sochi before Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix.
- Hamilton got his way anyway. It was impossible to withdraw the 10 second penalty. For this, 2 penalty points were withdrawn, which made the world champion dangerously close to exclusion from the race. The Briton already had 10 of them, and a super-license for one Grand Prix is suspended for 12.
- Once again, fans could see that Lewis stands above the law in Formula 1, and the world champion could once again feel like the uncrowned King of One.
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G … true, replied one of the Formula 1 judges, former driver Mika Salo, to the allegation made by Lewis Hamilton’s panel of referees. Carried on the wave of biased questions asked by the British media during the official press conference, the world champion said that the judges were trying to “match” him in order to make the fight for the championship more attractive, which is already a foregone conclusion. The leader of Mercedes and the general classification of the 2020 season has achieved his goal.
Hamilton was outraged by the two penalties – five seconds each – for making trial starts in an unacceptable place on his way to the track in Sochi before Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix. “They’re trying to stop me,” he confirmed his earlier allegations in an interview with Sky TV. Meanwhile, from the beginning of his career in Formula 1, the British was treated by the judges rather mildly, even preferentially. However, when the penalties fell in 2011, after the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton then suggested that the arbitrators took on him. “Maybe it’s because I’m black!” – the driver said in a conversation with journalists, which, surprisingly, he got away with. This time in Sochi, the champion proved that the regulations did not prohibit test starts in this place, leaving the team responsible for the offense. First, he asked his engineer for permission to follow a typical racing procedure elsewhere. And he got it. – Lewis asked us if he could go a bit further – the head of racing engineering explains to his people. – We didn’t realize how far he would go. When we saw the second try, we thought, “They’re not gonna like it,” admitted Andrew Shovlin.
The judges did not like Lewis’s behavior, and the race director also refuted Hamilton’s objection that the guidelines stated that the start should be made behind the traffic lights (at the end of the pit lane), without specifying the place. “The location of the practice starts is track dependent and is clearly stated in the newsletter,” says Michael Masi, F1 racing director.
Hamilton got his way anyway. It was impossible to withdraw the 10 second penalty. For this, 2 penalty points were withdrawn, which made the world champion dangerously close to exclusion from the race. The Briton already had 10 of them, and a super-license for one Grand Prix is suspended for 12. For this, 25 thousand. Euro fine on a Mercedes for letting the driver go on.
While the award of penalty points was quite a harsh play, withdrawing them is a disgrace for Formula 1. The decision was explained by the team’s responsibility for the player’s misconduct. Unfortunately, the points were not withdrawn for other drivers for similar or more obvious mistakes of their teams in previous races.
Once again, fans could see that Lewis stands above the law in Formula 1, and the world champion could once again feel like the uncrowned King of One.
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