Lewis Hamilton dodged a major sporting penalty after a super close call with his own mechanic during a pit-stop at the Belgian Grand Prix. The incident, where he literally ran over a leg, could have been a disaster, but the FIA ultimately hit his team with a hefty fine instead of a racing penalty for the champ.
Pit-Stop Horror Show and the Aftermath
Talk about a heart-stopper, right? Hamilton was already having a frustrating day at Spa-Francorchamps. He got slapped with a five-second penalty early on for a collision with George Russell, who ended up spinning out on the first lap. Then, during his pit-stop where he served that penalty, Hamilton was erroneously given the green light to rejoin the track. But then, BAM, he left his pit-box and actually ran over his own mechanic’s leg! Can you believe it? He paused, totally worried, before going on, but thankfully, the mechanic escaped any significant injury. The FIA stewards were on it, investigating for a potential “unsafe release” after the session.
A few hours after he finished fourth, the decision came down: the team got slapped with a £25,500 fine, with £8,500 of that suspended for 12 months. But here’s the wild part: *no damaging sporting penalty* for Hamilton himself for that specific incident. He did admit to Sky Sports F1 that it was a rough day overall. “I damaged the car, then when they rebuilt it, they missed the suspension so the balance was completely different,” he said, explaining he was “three-tenths slower” because of his own mistake. On the mechanic incident, he definitely put it on the team’s call. “The green light went, you’re looking ‘over here’ not ‘there’, it’s more on the team ultimately,” Hamilton said. He added, “When it happened, I noticed him, I stopped. Back when Kimi [Raikkonen] broke the leg, my heart really sank for a second, glad he’s OK.”
Championship Shakes Up as Hungary Looms
Even with the whole messy weekend and finishing outside the top three, there’s a silver lining for Hamilton. Russell’s retirement means Lewis actually jumps up to second in the championship standings! He’s now Kimi Antonelli’s closest challenger, sitting 45 points behind him. It’s a long season, but every point absolutely counts. Hamilton knows they gotta tighten things up, though. “Can’t afford weekends like this in terms of my performance yesterday [crash in practice], so am going to step it up in performance level next week,” he admitted. The next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, is coming up next weekend. It’s the final round before the F1 summer break, so you know everyone’s gonna be pushing hard to make a statement!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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