FIA to revisit Hamilton crossing live Qatar F1 race track

The FIA has announced it will revisit the incident that involved Lewis Hamilton crossing a live race track in last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

The two Mercedes drivers tangled at Turn 1 in Sunday’s race, resulting in Hamilton being stranded in the gravel and retiring on the spot.

Although the stewards determined that neither driver was at fault for the incident, they did take action regarding Hamilton crossing the track while the race was ongoing.

“After crashing out of the race in Lap 1, the driver of Car 44 abandoned his car in the gravel and ran back to the pits,” the stewards’ verdict read.

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“He thereby crossed the track that was live at this time and reached the inside edge of the track just seconds before Car 63 arrived at high speed after exiting the pits. He then continued to walk alongside the track until finally exiting the track.

Hamilton was subsequently handed a reprimand and fined a total of €50,000, €25,000 of which is suspended for the remainder of the 2023 Formula 1 season.

However, the FIA has announced it plans to review whether incidents of a similar nature should warrant a harsher penalty amid concerns over the impact on upcoming racers.

“The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix,” the FIA noted in a statement.

“The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent stewards hearing in to the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach. However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.”