This is what Hamilton said about taking out another driver in 2018

We go back to the year 2018, where Lewis Hamilton is fighting Sebastian Vettel for the world title. During the French Grand Prix, Vettel makes a mistake. He brakes, and taps Valtteri Bottas on the back of his wheel at the first corner. Vettel was given a five second penalty, but still finished in fifth place. Bottas, the victim of Vettel's tap, finishes seventh.

Hamilton does not agree with Hamilton

''Ultimately, if you ruin someone's race because of a mistake, and you're able to come back to a place ahead of the other person, that penalty doesn't outweigh your mistake. You shouldn't be able to finish ahead of the other person if you take them out of the race. It's like you're violating the speed, but  just let you go,'' Hamilton revealed at the time versus Sky Sports.

These are comments that now, over three years later, suddenly appear in a very different light. Of course, one crash is not another, but Hamilton didn't come back to the fact that he had taken someone out of the race. If it had been up to the Lewis of three years ago, he would never have been able to win the race now.

10-second stop and go

A 10 second stop and go penalty would have been more appropriate in that regard. Then Hamilton might have been able to score points, but he would have had to start all over again from the back. Now he could wait until his first pit stop, and the damage was limited. As a result he was able to drive to victory in the end.

Looking at the past, a ten second stop and go wouldn't have been out of the question either. They were already given for similar incidents. For example, Esteban Ocon received this penalty in 2019 for his collision with Max Verstappen in Brazil, or Daniil Kvyat for his crash with Sebastian Vettel in Russia in 2016.