Despite video appearing to show that a yellow light was visible, Lewis Hamilton was not penalized when he appeared to fail to slow for yellow flags on Saturday night.
Although video suggests he may have gotten off lightly, Lewis Hamilton avoided a penalty for failing to slow down for yellow flags during Sunday’s Mexico Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver will line up sixth on the grid as he eyes a first win in almost two years at a track where he has won previously. His task could’ve been harder had he copped a penalty following qualifying as the stewards investigated him.
Yellow flags came out after a spin for Fernando Alonso in the closing minutes down at Turn 3. Hamilton failed to slow but the stewards stated that there was no clear yellow light as the Brit approached Turn 1, although as he went through the first chicane it appeared as though lights were visible.
Despite that the verdict read: “The stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
The onboard video unequivocally demonstrates that Car 44 entered Turn 1 with no light or flag displayed. He then entered Turn 2, where a green light appeared, followed by two yellow light pulses, and a moment later, the light panel was blank. Compared to his prior push lap, the driver’s time in the mini sector was marginally slower. We have concluded that there was no violation of the regulations.
Max Verstappen, the world champion, and George Russell, Hamilton’s teammate, were also called to the steward’s office but were not punished because it was claimed that they had blocked the end of the pit lane.
The Ferrari driver acknowledged, saying, “I didn’t think I would be on pole today. After FP3, we felt like we were missing a lot. We gained a lot on the new tires, though, and once we got everything together, for some reason, everything went smoothly.”
At a track where he has previously experienced notable success, Verstappen will start third. Daniel Ricciardo, a former teammate, put himself fourth after a phenomenal lap, ahead of Sergio Perez, whose future at Red Bull is uncertain going into the upcoming season.