Lewis Hamilton will not be investigated by the FIA stewards after continuing to drive his damaged Ferrari in the TL3 of the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, despite receiving several orders to stop. The situation drew attention because Sergio Perez was penalized in 2024 for a similar occurrence during a race.
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Hamilton crashed into the Tecpro barrier and damaged the nose and front wing of the Ferrari. After managing to get the car moving again, he tried to return to the pits, but a part of the wing got stuck under the car and there was also a puncture in the front right tire.
Ferrari repeatedly asked Hamilton to stop in the safest possible location. Race engineer Carlo Santi warned the driver about the damage and informed him that race control wanted the car off the track, ordering the stop six times.
Initially, Hamilton intended to continue to the pits and stated he would only stop if he could not continue. He ended up parking the Ferrari on the side of the track, which was decisive in preventing the episode from resulting in an investigation.
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The sporting regulations establish that a driver must leave the track as soon as it is possible to do so safely, when the car presents clear and significant structural damage that represents an immediate danger. The same rule applies to serious failures that prevent returning to the pits without causing unnecessary interference in the event.
Although the rule does not differentiate between free practice and races at this point, the context was considered different from Perez’s case at the 2024 Canadian GP. On that occasion, the then Red Bull Racing driver returned to the pits with the rear wing severely damaged, lost parts along the way, and received a three-place grid penalty, while the team was fined 25,000 euros.
In Hamilton’s case, the fact that he finally stopped safely, along with the red flag and the absence of marshals on the track, weighed in the evaluation. Race control could have determined a different consequence if the driver had insisted on going to the pits, but the stop ended the situation without investigation.
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