Midway through Free Practice 3 of the Saudi Arabian GP, Hamilton inadvertently blocked Mazepin while on a slow lap at Turn 8 at Jeddah. Being in a blind spot, the Russian had to dodge quickly to avoid a potentially serious accident. As a result, the Briton received a reprimand.
Despite being one of the lighter punishments, it could land him in trouble in the decisive race at Yas Marina, as if he receives another reprimand related to driving offences, it would mean his third in 2021 and carry a 10-place grid penalty. start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton’s first warning came at the Mexican GP, where he made a risky maneuver on his way back onto the track, as quoted in the document published at the time: “Car 44 left the track to the left between turns 1 and 2 and came back between turns 1 and 2, 2 and 3, instead of going back on the left side of the bollard at turn 3.”
The second and most recent reprimand was received in the aforementioned incident with Mazepin: “The driver received a warning ten seconds in advance that car 9 was approaching when he was in turn 2. Due to a miscommunication, he no longer received more alert until the other car was next to him. It’s the driver’s responsibility to avoid obstacles. That didn’t happen in this case.”
In addition to the reprimand, Mercedes was also fined €25,000 for having negatively influenced the incident by failing to keep its driver abreast of the situation at all times.
Formula 1 regulations stipulate that on the third reprimand of a driver, and if the first two are for driving infractions, he will receive a ten-position penalty for the race. If the warning limit is exceeded during the race, the penalty is applied at the next appointment.
“Any driver who receives three reprimands in the same championship, upon imposing the third, will receive a penalty of ten places on the grid,” indicates the regulation of the category.
“If the incident takes place during the same race, the ten-place penalty will be applied at the driver’s next event. The ten-place penalty will only be imposed if at least two of the warnings were issued for a driving offence.” .
As the Abu Dhabi GP is the last event of the season and reprimands only count for the current year, Hamilton could not be punished at the 2022-opening Bahrain GP if he receives a third reprimand in the main event at Yas Marina and It would end without consequence.
