Lewis Hamilton is facing a trip to the stewards in the aftermath of the Qatar Grand Prix with the seven-time world champion under investigation for crossing the circuit.
Hamilton found himself in trouble on the opening lap of the race when he got a better launch than his Mercedes team-mate, sending it around the outside of George Russell without success.
The 38-year-old made contact after squeezing Russell, sending him spinning into the gravel and out of the race at the first corner. This was when the incident that is under investigation took place.
With the race under safety car conditions and Hamilton out of his vehicle in the gravel trap, he crossed the circuit to get back to the pit lane, falling foul of the regulations in the process.
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Hamilton is now scheduled to see the stewards for two different incidents with the first being for the crash itself. However, with the two drivers being team-mates and his race ruined as a result, no penalty is expected to come his way.
Russell was furious with his team-mate in the immediate aftermath of the incident before cooling off and taking a more cautious approach, apologising to his team in the process.
He commented on the crash for Sky Sports F1 after the race, stating: “We both had the possibility of standing on the podium. Obviously nothing intentional both ways. These cars are so difficult to see when you are racing – there’s big blind spots.
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“We both have so much respect for one another,” he continued. “We will go past this and I’m sure we will speak and everything will be OK.”
After watching back replays of the incident, Hamilton owned up to his mistake, taking to the X social media platform to apologise. He wrote: “I’ve watched the replay and it was 100% my fault and I take full responsibility. Apologies to my team and to George.”
With Sergio Perez scoring just a single point following a penalty-filled weekend, this DNF was a major missed opportunity as Hamilton looks to hunt down the Mexican for P2 in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
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