Why Ferrari was fined for unsafe Hamilton incident

The F1 stewards have explained why Ferrari was fined €5,000 for a pit lane incident with Lewis Hamilton during qualifying in Qatar.

Hamilton was forced to hit his brakes as he drove down the pit lane at the Lusail International Circuit when Ferrari released Carlos Sainz into his path.

Unsafe releases in the pit lane usually carry more weight during races and often do not result in a grid penalty for a close call during practice or qualifying.

It was no different on Saturday in Qatar as the team was fined rather than issued a more severe penalty.

Explaining the decision, the F1 stewards outlined: “The representative of Car 55 admitted that the Number 1 mechanic responsible for releasing Car 55, signalled the car to be released prior to the driver being ready. 

“This resulted in a small delay which in turn resulted in the car being released into the path of Car 44, requiring the driver of Car 44 to take avoiding action.

“This is a breach of Article 34.14 and consistent with similar cases this year, the penalty above is imposed.”

Hamilton is set to start the Qatar Grand Prix from sixth on the grid with Sainz for company one position behind in seventh.