Lewis Hamilton discovers penalty fate after FIA stewards’ investigation at Qatar Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton was placed under investigation for an incident during qualifying ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.

The FIA stewards have revealed their decision after placing Lewis Hamilton under investigation for driving too slowly on his out lap during Q1 on Friday in Qatar, judging that the Mercedes driver will face no further action.

Hamilton was called to the stewards off the back of an incident that occurred during Q1 with the seven-time world champion investigated for ‘exceeding the time limit between the safety car lines during qualifying.’

This boils down to the fact that Hamilton was driving too slowly on his out lap with the FIA taking special measures this season to alleviate fears of traffic congestion for drivers on flying laps during qualifying sessions.

The 38-year-old wasn’t the only driver to catch the eye of the stewards for his out-lap speed during qualifying on Friday. McLaren’s star rookie Oscar Piastri was also flagged up for a potential violation of this rule, while the AlphaTauri duo of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were also placed under investigation.

However, it was found by the FIA that all four of them ‘took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and in all cases they slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass while giving those drivers a clear track’.

Despite the investigation, Hamilton remained unhappy with his performance in qualifying. The British driver was second in the order going into the final series of flying laps, but made a mistake on the final attempt, which dropped him to fifth place at the checkered flag.

Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris both had their lap times erased after the session ended, pushing Hamilton into third place behind team-mate George Russell, but the British legend remained frustrated.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hamilton said:
“Not very satisfied. It’s great that the team is in the first two lines. Difficult start to practice, difficult conditions with wind.

In the end, a pretty average session for me. I will try my best and try to score these points. It’s great to get ahead of Ferrari, that’s the key.”

Hamilton was right to stress the importance of this result for Mercedes’ battle with Ferrari. After difficult weekends against their Manufacturers’ Championship rivals at Singapore and Suzuka, this will be a welcome opportunity for them to extend their advantage.

The Silver Arrows are 20 points ahead of Ferrari in the battle for P2 ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix and with Charles Leclerc starting fifth and Carlos Sainz qualifying outside the top 10, Russell and Hamilton have a golden opportunity to stand out more in this battle. .