Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were both under investigation for hours after the Brazilian Grand Prix with Mercedes accused if illegally changing their tyre pressures on the grid
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both avoided sporting penalties after their Mercedes crew adjusted the pressures on their tyres when they weren’t supposed to.
Cameras mounted on their cars captured mechanics performing that procedure after the wheels had been installed, right before the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix. However, the rules are clear, stating that pressures can only be adjusted before to attachment.
At the same time, the situation was extremely rare. The race had been aborted after Lance Stroll crashed on the formation lap, and technicians raced back onto the grid to prepare the cars again, with a 10-minute warning before the restart, while the Aston Martin was recovered.
The FIA technical representative explained what had transpired to the stewards so that they could decide what the best course of action was. And after hours of discussion, they chose not to punish either of the drivers.
They were allowed to preserve their race places; Russell finished fourth, but Hamilton struggled with pace and finished 10th. Instead, Mercedes was fined £4,200 per car after the stewards determined that a sporting sanction was “not appropriate”.
The official decision document stated: “Given the unusual circumstances surrounding the compressed timetable, aborted start, grid access logistics, and the technical delegate’s stipulation that the tyre pressures were within the correct parameters, the stewards determine that a fine for a breach of procedure is appropriate in this case.”
“Normally, a transgression of this nature during a competitive session would result in a sports penalty, but it is not acceptable in this circumstance. However, because the circumstances are unique, this decision should not be interpreted as a precedent for any future comparable breaches.
It was one of several situations that remained under investigation for hours following the race. Several drivers, including Russell and pole-sitter Lando Norris, faced penalties for continuing on another formation lap after the ‘aborted start’ instruction was issued, when they should have stayed in their grid positions.
More than half of the grid drove off at that point, and several were investigated. It was determined that Norris and Russell, as the drivers in the front row, had allowed the others to violate procedure – but the Brits were only fined £4,200 each.
“As the drivers were on the front row of the grid this triggered following drivers to take similar action,” the stewards explained. “In the opinion of the stewards, the drivers NOR and RUS precipitated the action of the drivers on the grid directly behind them.”
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