F1 News

No penalty for Hamilton, reprimand for Albon

Hamilton unpunished after incident with Russell, grid penalty for Magnussen

28 July 2023 at 19:27
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  • Kada Sarkozi
  • Editor

Lewis Hamilton will not be penalised for the incident with his teammate George Russell during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Alexander Albon, on the other hand, receives a reprimand from the stewards for another incident, while Kevin Magnussen has to pay for it with a three-place grid penalty

No penalty for Hamilton, reprimand for Albon and penalty for Magnussen

Hamilton allegedly got back onto the track in an unsafe manner, hindering Russell, but the stewards ruled that the Mercedes driver was not to blame. They settled for the 38-year-old Briton's explanation, who said he swerve in front of the approaching Valtteri Bottas.

Russell said he was also warned about Bottas, but later sidestepped. Moreover, he stated that he was completing the same programme as his teammate and that Hamilton's action was at no point unsafe. The stewards agreed with that explanation and decided not to penalise Hamilton.

Alex Albon got away slightly less well with a similar moment. He went off the track in Q1, only to return to the racing line. The stewards believe he could have done more to ensure he got back onto the track safely as another car approached. The Williams driver will receive a reprimand for this.

Kevin Magnussen was less fortunate. He was found guilty of interfering with Charles Leclerc after he hit the wall and returned to the track. The stewards took into account that he was not warned by his team, but found that he unnecessarily impeded Leclerc anyway.