Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton’s backtracking legal?
The seven-time British world champion had quite a scare on Sunday at the Tosa bend, coming close to retiring. To get out of the gravel and back on track, he had to use reverse gear. The legality of the maneuver was questioned by a few.
The 32nd lap will have been one of cold sweats for the Mercedes team. As he was racing towards Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton unfortunately slipped on a wet patch while lapping George Russell.
Stuck in the gravel and facing the wall, Mercedes #44 didn’t have many options left to get back on track. Some observers deemed the championship leader’s return to the track illicit.
On closer inspection, the English driver did not come back on the trajectory. He made sure to return to the edge of the track, outside of the Tosa corner. So, no obstruction of the track to hinder the other cars coming up behind him.
This is indeed the case mentioned in the Sporting Regulation. Articles 27.3 and 27.4 state that: “if a car leaves the track, the driver may only rejoin it in a safe manner and without gaining an advantage. A car cannot be driven slowly, erratically, or in a way that could be considered potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person. »
In this case, Lewis Hamilton did not perform a dangerous maneuver. Worse still, he lost a monstrous amount of time trying to get out of his embarrassment. That’s why, despite some questions, this reverse move was not a breach of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.
This fright still did not prevent him from finishing in second place and even less from maintaining the lead in the drivers’ standings.
