Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton has been demoted three places for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix after impeding Sergio Perez in qualifying.
Red Bull driver Perez caught up with Hamilton in the slow right-hander of Turn 9 in Q1, and while Hamilton stayed on the outside of the corner, Perez still had to ease off the accelerator on the exit to avoid the Mercedes.
At the time, Perez shouted over his team radio: “What the hell is that idiot doing?” Hamilton, on the other hand, felt that he had “stayed far out of his way”.
Race officials disagreed with Hamilton and gave him a three-place grid penalty, dropping him from 12th to 15th on Sunday’s grid.
“The driver of Car 44 (Hamilton) was on an in-lap and was informed by the team that Car 11 was closing in on a fast lap as he entered Turn 8,” the race stewards wrote in their verdict.
“He then came off the line at the exit of Turn 8, intending to make way for Car 11. However, by the time Car 11 arrived, Car 44 had already entered Turn 9 and rejoined the racing line at the exit of Turn 9, clearly impeding Car 11.
“The race directors conclude that although there was a warning from the team and the driver attempted to avoid the other car, he could have braked harder to avoid obstructing the other car. They therefore consider the obstruction to be unnecessary in terms of the regulations. Therefore, one starting grid position will be moved back in line with previous decisions.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Even before the penalty, Hamilton felt the weekend was lost after starting outside the top 10 on the twisty Zandvoort circuit, where overtaking is extremely difficult.
“From the moment with Checo, it was like a domino effect downhill,” he said. “And then the balance became more and more snappy, the oversteer more and more. And yes, it was terrible. It’s very, very frustrating, of course, but it is what it is.”
“So the weekend is over, so to speak, and we can move on to next week.”
The incident ruined Perez’s first Q2 run, requiring him to use an extra set of tyres to progress, which he then lacked in the decisive Q3 shootout.
“It was unfortunate, I think it was just the wrong time, the wrong moment,” the Mexican explained his view.
“Lewis was on the racing line, so I couldn’t do anything other than put on another set (of tyres), which was very costly in Q3.”
“The race directors have been really strict this year. I’ve had much worse penalties. So unfortunately I expect him to get a penalty.”
“I think our qualification could have looked a little different with two sets.”
