It has been confirmed that no further action will be taken after Lewis Hamilton was investigated by the stewards for an incident in qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver was summoned to see the stewards for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly during Q2, and they also heard from Lando Norris, who had been driving behind Hamilton. Hamilton explained that he had been looking for a tow, and had hoped to be passed by Norris. However, Norris chose not to do so, nor did Daniel Ricciardo following behind. A document confirming the outcome of the investigation states: "Although car 44 was slow, the stewards note that for the lap the delta time was respected, the driver pulled over to the left and off the racing line, this occurred on a straight where visibility was not an issue and there was no potential danger at any point, to any other driver. "The three cars on this portion of track at the time (cars 44, 4 and 3) were all on 'out' laps." In the case of Norris, it was similarly noted that "although car 4 was driven slowly, there was no potential danger to any other driver, this occurred on a straight section of road where visibility was not an issue, and there was room for the car behind (car 3) to pass if the driver of that car had wanted to."
Other investigation outcomes confirmed
Elsewhere, the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher were also investigated after qualifying because they "did not leave the end of the pit lane in the order in which [they] arrived in the fastlane". Both drivers also escaped without a penalty, with the document stating: "The stewards accept that the positioning of the pit garage for the team made it impossible in the circumstances for either team car to line up in order in the fast lane, in view of number of cars that were already there. "It is noted that both cars departed in a safe manner, and further that it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the team to determine which order the cars should depart, leaving the only option as starting behind all other cars. "This effectively means that teams allocated pits at the exit of the pit lane will always have to exit last unless they choose to leave their garage significantly earlier. "The stewards recommend that this particular regulation be examined, as this case is almost identical to that involving Williams Racing in Mexico 2021, where no further action was taken."
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