Heavy fine imposed on Lewis Hamilton by the FIA for crossing the track on foot in Qatar

The sanction is very, very strong. The English pilot, Lewis Hamilton, was fined 50,000€, of which 25,000€ is suspended in case of repeat offense within the year. He also receives a reprimand of a type, outside of the race.

Lewis Hamilton caused a collision at the first turn of the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday evening. By hitting his teammate, he skidded off and ended up in the gravel trap, forced to retire.

If he indeed tried to mount a commissioner’s scooter to rejoin the paddock, the latter seemed not to know where to go. Lewis Hamilton therefore took the initiative to cross the track, even as the other single-seaters were arriving, under yellow flag and safety car regime.

So Lewis Hamilton put himself in a very insecure position and it is this behavior that was reported by the commissioners and sanctioned with a reprimand and a €25,000 fine to be paid immediately and a €25,000 suspended fine.

The FIA has informed that Hamilton has violated the sporting regulations, article 26.7 b). For this, he will receive an additional fine of €25,000 if it happens again.

« After crashing at Turn 1, driver No. 44 abandoned his car and ran to the garages. Therefore, he crossed the track which was then forbidden to pedestrians and passed a few meters from car No. 63 before finally leaving the track. During his hearing with the race commissioners, the driver was sorry and realized that this was a dangerous situation. » explained the FIA statement.