Ferrari left Spa-Francorchamps with a podium and new questions about the performance of the Formula 1 stewards. Frédéric Vasseur stated that the penalty applied to Lewis Hamilton for the incident with George Russell was excessive and raised doubts about the consistency of the decisions made throughout the season.
The Italian team’s manager argued that collisions on the first lap have been treated as racing incidents in 2026. For him, the contact between Hamilton and Russell followed this pattern, especially because, in his view, the Mercedes driver had enough space to avoid the touch.
“Yes, because so far this season all first lap incidents have been considered racing incidents. And in this case, the other driver had enough space not to close on the right and go on the left. At the end of the day, I’m not the one who makes the decision, but it seems harsh,” said Vasseur.
The incident happened when Hamilton touched the rear of his former teammate’s car, causing Russell to spin and retire from the race. Although the Mercedes driver himself classified the situation as a racing incident, the stewards applied a five-second penalty to the seven-time world champion.
Despite the sanction, the Briton managed to finish the race in fourth position. Charles Leclerc, in turn, crossed the finish line in second place after benefiting from a Virtual Safety Car period during the battle at Spa.
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When evaluating Ferrari’s performance over the weekend, Vasseur highlighted that the initial expectation was difficulties both in Belgium and at the British GP. “We knew before Silverstone and Spa that, on paper, they would be complicated weekends. Overall, we did very well. Kimi was a step ahead in pure performance, but we had a good start, good execution, and managed to fight,” he said.
The Frenchman also emphasized that the development of the cars makes it impossible to predict the results of the upcoming rounds. According to him, some tracks should favor Ferrari’s current package more, but each GP represents a new challenge for all teams on the grid.
Hamilton was also under investigation after hitting a Ferrari mechanic during his pit stop, when he received the green light before the completion of an adjustment to the front wing. The incident left no injuries, and the team received a fine of approximately US$ 35,000, with about US$ 11,700 suspended for twelve months, provided there is no recurrence during the period.
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