“There was an infringement”- FIA responds to Lewis Hamilton’s allegations on people in power at F1 trying to stop him.
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Lewis Hamilton on Sunday received a 10-second penalty for his practice start from an incorrect position. Later in the race.
It was also announced that F1 stewards are going to penalize 2 points on his license bringing him closer to a race ban. Though, it was later retracted by F1.
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To this Hamilton reacted aggressively and said that no other driver would have received the same treatment and the people at F1 are trying to slow him down.
“I’m pretty sure no one has ever got two five-second penalties for something so ridiculous before,” he said. “They are trying to stop me. But it’s OK. I’ll just keep my head down and stay focused and see what happens.”
Race Director Masi has ruled out any bias, insisting any driver would have received the same penalty and says his “door is always open” if Hamilton wants to discuss matters privately.
“From my perspective, it’s very simple that if Lewis wants to raise something – as I have said to him before and said to all the drivers numerous times – the door is always open. I’m more than happy to discuss anything,” he replied when asked about Hamilton’s post-race comments.
“I think from an FIA perspective we are there as a sporting regulator to administer the regulations. We have the stewards as an independent judiciary to adjudicate those.
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“There was an infringement and, it doesn’t matter if it was Lewis Hamilton or any one of the other 19 drivers if a breach has occurred of the regulations they will consider it on its merits.
“Further to that, I would say they adjudicate it equitably and fairly in the circumstances, taking all of the key elements into account.”
An unfair judgement?
Max Verstappen was the first one to mention that the points penalty was harsh and the time penalty served by Hamilton was enough.
Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal came out in defence of Hamilton and said that the eventual judgement of the stewards was bit far-fetched.
“I’m not happy with the penalty because it’s far-fetched. But we will agree to disagree and I will always respect the stewards’ and their job but on that one, we will agree to disagree.”
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