Lewis Hamilton receiving a five-second penalty for colliding with Sergio Perez in Spa has landed the FIA in hot water with the community. Hamilton, who was surprised about the penalty, now gets an ally in the name of Karun Chandhok. Chandhok, who is an analyst on Sky Sports F1, has come out with better examples of the FIA’s inconsistency by citing an incident from Formula E earlier this weekend.
Chandhok recently took to Twitter to share his disagreement with the punishment on Hamilton. He retweeted the official post by F1 on the penalty and wrote, “Don’t think that deserved a penalty…. Bit of “rubbin is racin” but nothing more…”
Don’t think that deserved a penalty…. Bit of “rubbin is racin” but nothing more… https://t.co/U67o8vwmRR
— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) July 29, 2023
However, the post received widespread commendation from Mercedes and Hamilton fans. But also at the same time, Red Bull fans bashed him. This was because the damage by the Mercedes driver caused Perez to lose valuable points. Nevertheless, the criticism didn’t sway him from asking for more accountability from the FIA.
Karun Chandhok holds FIA accountable for Lewis Hamilton penalty
Chandhok, with his tweet, has asked for direct accountability from the FIA. The former Indian driver was seemingly unhappy about the inconsistency of the sport’s governing body, because of what happened in Formula E’s London E-Prix. Stoffel Vandoorne managed to escape a penalty in that race, despite causing what appeared to be an even bigger crash with even bigger repercussions.
Regarding this, he wrote on Twitter, “The Lewis penalty decision has obviously grabbed the headlines…. Meanwhile, the stewards here in London have not given Vandoorne anything for this little move. Consistency?!”
The Lewis penalty decision has obviously grabbed the headlines….
Meanwhile the stewards here in London have not given Vandoorne anything for this little move 🤷🏽♂️🤯
Consistency?! https://t.co/ULBUiHA7zR
— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) July 30, 2023
On Sunday, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz also got away after colliding with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during the race on Sunday. It added more fuel to the fire regarding the public’s unhappiness towards Hamilton getting a rather harsh penalty.
Carlos Sainz gets away after a similar situation in Spa
On the very first lap of the 2023 Belgian GP, Sainz made contact with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, which effectively ended his race. The latter was forced to retire after just one lap, but the stewards didn’t penalize Sainz.
However, the Spanish driver’s race didn’t go smoothly either. He too, suffered damage to his sidepod and retired before the end of the race. This was one of the reasons behind the FIA getting more heat from fans and pundits.
Even though the five-second time penalty on Lewis Hamilton remained, the seven-time world champion wasn’t bothered much about the outcome. As he lost only three points, he was unhappy but did not lose his cool, and shifted his focus on the main race.
