BEVERLY HILLS, April 02, (THEWILL) – Less than a week after winning the season opening Formula 1 Grand Prix in Bahrain, the Mercedes AMG F1 racing team’s British record race driver Sir Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified for certain breaches he engaged in during the race.
This came as a result of an immense outcry from F1 watchers and fans on social media about the Formula 1 driver’s off-track actions at the Bahrain Grand Prix and the pressure exerted by racing opponents Red Bull Racing that forced the hand of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) to give greater diligence to the case.
Some of the actions of the seven-time world champion in the Sunday race drew the attention of number of race experts, who queried the legality of those actions.
For instance, Hamilton went off the track several times at Sakhir without being reprimanded once by the stewards, whose responsibility is to check for such.
This immediately called FIA’s impartiality into question regarding Mercedes and its star driver. The voices baying for justice combined with the insistence of the Red Bull team, resulted in the the stewards returning to the evidence to focus their attention on the video of the race as well as on the data of Lewis Hamilton’s W12 Mercedes.
Based on the findings, it was revealed that the British driver’s actions obviously gave him a certain advantage over his rival, Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. The official report mentions a gain of two tenths of a second per lap, which is considerable in terms of who eventually wins a race and led to the decision by the stewards to disqualify Hamilton.
Michael Masi, who is the FIA Race Director provided a basis for their decision-making: “We have made our decision in good conscience. It was initially decided not to take any action against Lewis.
“But at Red Bull’s insistence, we analysed the data on the number 44 car and found that Lewis had a significant advantage over his rivals through his various manoeuvres at Turn 4.”
He tried to provide a soft-landing for the FIA after such a monumental but correct decision: “We therefore had no choice but to disqualify him from the race. I know that many fans will be disappointed that this story has come to an abrupt end, but that’s the way it is.”
It is unclear at the moment if that is all the penalty that will be dished out to Mercedes and Hamilton or if any more sanctions will follow based on the regulations governing F1.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
