Dakar Rally News: Mercedes F1 Driver Lewis Hamilton Receives Grid Penalty for Dutch Race
In a dramatic turn of events, Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix. The penalty comes after the stewards deemed that Hamilton impeded Sergio Perez of Red Bull during the qualifying session.
The incident occurred in Q1 when Perez, who was on a fast lap, approached the slow right-hander of Turn 9. Although Hamilton remained on the outside of the corner, Perez still had to lift off the throttle on the exit to avoid the Mercedes. Perez’s team radio captured the Mexican driver’s frustration, with him yelling “What the **** is this idiot doing?”
In their verdict, the stewards acknowledged that while Hamilton was informed by his team of Perez’s approaching car and tried to move out of the way, he could have slowed down more to avoid the impeding. As a result, the penalty will see Hamilton demoted from 12th to 15th on the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
“It just went downhill like a domino effect from the moment with Checo. And then the balance just got more and more snappy, more and more oversteery. And, yeah, it was terrible. It’s definitely very, very frustrating, naturally, but it’s is what it is.”
— Lewis Hamilton
Perez, on the other hand, felt that the incident had a significant impact on his qualifying, as it forced him to use an extra set of tires to advance to Q3, which he then missed out on. “The stewards have been really strict this year, I’ve got penalties for a lot worse than that. So I do expect him to get a penalty, unfortunately,” Perez said.
The grid penalty is a setback for Hamilton, who will now have an uphill battle to climb on the challenging Zandvoort circuit, where overtaking is notoriously difficult. As the Formula 1 circus heads to the Netherlands, this incident is sure to add an extra layer of intrigue to the race.
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