Why Lewis Hamilton did not receive second British GP time penalty

Lewis Hamilton ended the British Grand Prix in third place, crossing the line behind race winner Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

It was a troubled afternoon for Hamilton, who picked up a five-second time penalty during the race for moving before the start lights went off, with the penalty served at his pit stop.

He then caught the attention of the stewards for an alleged yellow flag infringement on lap 38 when Nico Hulkenberg came to a halt on the track with a gearbox failure.

Hamilton faced an anxious wait after the race, having been summoned to the stewards, as a late safety car, triggered by Max Verstappen's crash at Stowe, bunched the field up, ensuring any time penalty would have dropped him well down the order.

Hamilton was sure that he was going to be issued a time penalty after the grand prix.

He was ultimately handed a reprimand after being judged to have not received enough warning about the yellow flag, keeping his podium finish intact.

The stewards' decision in full read: “Hamilton entered the relevant sector before any yellow flag or yellow light panel was displayed, with no such indication present before Turn 9. The first light panel encountered after Turn 9 was displaying green immediately before Turn 10. 

“The yellow indication on the steering wheel display only appeared once the driver was already on the straight towards Turn 10 and close to the end of the yellow flag zone. 

“The evidence showed that there was no yellow light panel warning within the driver’s immediate field of vision and that the yellow indication on the steering wheel display remained visible for only a very short period. The Stewards were therefore satisfied that the time available for the driver to react to the yellow flag indication was very limited.

“The Stewards also accept that, immediately prior to entering the sector, Hamilton had been involved in an overtaking manoeuvre with Verstappen and that the driver was expecting a counter attack. 

“As a result, his attention remained directed to his mirrors for most of the straight towards Turn 10, rather than immediately towards the green light panel at the end of the sector. The Stewards took this into account when considering whether the visibility of the green light panel should itself have made it clear to the driver that he was still within a yellow flag zone. 

“The Stewards nevertheless determine that, after the yellow had been displayed on the steering wheel display and the green light panel was illuminated immediately before Turn 10, Hamilton did not make a discernible reduction of speed and therefore did not fully comply with the requirements applicable under a single yellow flag.

“In determining the penalty, the Stewards took into account that Hamilton had entered the sector before the yellow was shown, that the yellow indication reached the driver only when he was already near the end of the sector, that the time and distance available to react were very limited, and that the driver’s attention had, for understandable reasons, been occupied by the immediately preceding battle with another car. 

“In those circumstances, the Stewards considered that a Reprimand was the appropriate penalty.”

Hamilton's top-three finish marked his 15th podium at Silverstone, extending the record for the most podiums at the same grand prix.