Breaking: Hamilton summoned by stewards for pit-lane incident!
The winner of this German Grand Prix will have to explain himself to the stewards for cutting the deceleration lane of the pit line!
Will Lewis Hamilton’s triumphant return be mitigated by the stewards? Victorious on the track, the Briton is still criticized for a contentious action. As the Safety Car came on track during lap 53 to remove the wreckage of the Ferrari, the Mercedes team decided to bring in both drivers for a tire change, with Bottas still ahead of Hamilton. However, the gap between the two was too small to avoid losing time. In complete confusion, the Briton was ordered to stay on track, even though he had already headed towards the deceleration lane to the pits. At the last second, Lewis Hamilton cut across the grass to get back on the track.
He then regained the lead of the race once Kimi Räikkönen pitted on the following lap to change tires. At the restart, Hamilton maintained his position against Bottas, well aided by the Mercedes team orders, freezing the positions. His one-stop strategy ultimately proved successful, especially since the Finn lost time during his tire change, as the mechanics were not ready!
That being said, the driver and his team were summoned to see the stewards. Lewis Hamilton’s action is targeted by Article 4 d) of Chapter 4 of the FIA International Sporting Code. It specifies that « except in cases of force majeure, it is prohibited for a car entering the pit lane to cut, in any direction, the line separating the pit entry and the track. »
Questioned by Sky F1 journalists, here is Lewis Hamilton’s defense: « I started to turn to enter the pits. I then told them that Kimi was continuing… That’s when they told me “stay on track.” I was already in the deceleration lane. So I turned by going through the grass. »
« I felt there was a chance by staying on the track. But it was so intense! It was really confusing because the whole pit wall was panicking. I was probably the most relaxed. »
For the record, Kimi Räikkönen also crossed the white line at the pit lane. The Finn received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty. More to come on this!
Esta es la maniobra por la que Hamilton ha sido llamado a declarar. #ALEmovistarF1 pic.twitter.com/siQkOTmFiz
— F1 en Movistar+ (@movistar_F1) 22 juillet 2018
