Lewis Hamilton faces Saudi GP penalty probe as two F1 rivals blast antics – ‘So dangerous’
Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton are looking to find performance at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but they could do better to not get in the way of their rivals as they do so.
Lewis Hamilton is under investigation by the Formula 1 stewards after leaving two of his rivals upset with his driving. The two incidents happened on Friday at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and saw the Ferrari racer annoy both drivers at Williams.
Hamilton was eighth quickest in FP1, a little over half-a-second off the pace. Carlos Sainz, the man whose place he took at Ferrari this season, was one place ahead with his best lap in the Williams.
But the Spaniard was not too impressed with the Brit’s actions at one point during the session. He came across Hamilton while on a flying lap at one of the many high-speed sections of the track and was clearly rattled when he turned a blind corner to find the slow-moving Ferrari ahead.
And Sainz turned the airwaves blue over the radio as he reported the near miss to his race engineer. “F**k. The Ferrari. Whoa, it’s so dangerous,” he said. “He cannot let me by there. Please, someone tell the Ferrari not to let by people there. It’s so dangerous.”
In commentary on the live Sky Sports coverage, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok said he could understand why Sainz was so upset. “No wonder Carlos Sainz isn’t happy about it,” he said.
They were doing 160mph through that part of the track when the Ferrari caught him by surprise by moving slowly. Although the Ferrari driver tried to move aside, in that section of the circuit, getting out of the way really means going completely off track.
Although it wasn’t Hamilton’s best moment, the seven-time world champion won’t face any consequences from that incident. However, later in FP2, he drew the attention of the stewards after a near-miss with Alex Albon, which could result in further scrutiny.
During that session, Albon had to swerve to avoid Hamilton’s slow-moving Ferrari while on a flying lap. Over team radio, a frustrated Albon called the situation “f***ing dangerous,” and it was soon confirmed that Hamilton would be investigated for obstructing another car.
To support Hamilton in adjusting to his new team, Ferrari introduced more upgrades for the Jeddah weekend. They’ve made changes to the rear wing, building on major floor upgrades brought to the previous race in Bahrain.
While his performance there wasn’t particularly notable, Hamilton’s fifth-place finish in Bahrain marked his best result of the 2025 season so far, earning him 25 points heading into the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
In Friday’s FP1 session, Hamilton was half a second off the pace, finishing eighth. Surprisingly, Pierre Gasly led the timesheets in his Alpine, with Lando Norris just 0.007 seconds behind as he looks to recover from a tough race in Bahrain.
