"Everyone knows that rule": FIA Race Director on why he's not impressed by Lewis Hamilton's post race celebration

FIA Race Director Michael Masi admits that he was unimpressed by Lewis Hamilton’s behaviour after the race in Brazil.

Michael Masi, the Race Director of the FIA, maintained that Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton was well-aware of the rules regarding safety and still went on to undo his seatbelt after winning the race in the cooldown lap.

In the cooldown lap, the Sao Paolo GP winner stopped in the second sector, where he got a Brazilian flag from one of the Marshals. While doing so, Hamilton unfastened his seatbelt. This move ended up sending him to the stewards after the race, where he was eventually given a 5,000 euro fine.

Also read: Max Verstappen jokes about paying his fine for touching Lewis Hamilton’s rear wing

When asked about the incident, Masi said that it ended up being a rather straightforward conversation with the seven-time world champion as he and all the other drivers are quite aware of the rule regarding the seatbelts.

“Everyone knows that rule, it’s been discussed before,”

“I’m well aware that it was discussed in Charlie’s [Whiting, Masi’s predecessor] time, drivers were reminded that, obviously, on cooldown laps, there’s no problem loosening their belts, but they need to remain fully attached.

Christian Horner running to Michael Masi when he notices Lewis took his safety belt off in the cool down lap pic.twitter.com/RANoimtxD0

— Sophie Barley (@SophieBarley) November 14, 2021

“It is a safety item. I think the stewards have made it quite clear in their decision that it’s not about stopping celebrations at all.

“But at the pinnacle of motorsport, we make it clear that A, it’s a safety issue, and B, we’re sending a message all the way through that [this] type of behaviour is not acceptable.”

History finds a way of repeating itself

This isn’t the first time Hamilton has been reprimanded for the seatbelt rule. In a video that went viral a few years ago, Lewis Hamilton was found guilty of the very same thing when Haas driver Romain Grosjean pointed out that the British driver removed his seatbelt when gesturing to some fans after a race.

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