General
FIA to review incident of Hamilton crossing in Qatar
Lewis Hamilton crossed the track - while not allowed to - after his crash in the Qatar Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver was already penalised for this after the race at the Losail International Circuit, but the FIA has decided on its own initiative to revisit the incident anyway. Possibly, the governing body considers the punishment handed out an offence of this nature too light.
FIA having second thoughts
Hamilton was reprimanded and fined €50,000, of which €25,000 was conditional. However, a week after the weekend in Qatar, the FIA has changed its mind and actually considers the offence more serious than initially estimated.
A spokesman for the international motorsport federation revealed on Sunday morning: 'The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix. 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.'
Hamilton has since been penalised and so the seven-time world champion does not appear to have any immediate fear of an aggravated penalty. It is possible that the FIA is aiming with this that crossing the track under race conditions should be more heavily penalised in the future.