Lewis Hamilton secured the 16th Silverstone podium of his Formula 1 career, but the British driver’s home race was far more complicated than the final result suggests. From a five-second penalty for a false start to major understeer problems with his Ferrari, the seven-time world champion had to overcome several setbacks just to finish on the podium.
Even after the chequered flag, Hamilton’s third place remained under threat due to an investigation into an alleged failure to respect yellow flags following Nico Hulkenberg’s retirement. At 6:27 pm local time, however, the FIA stewards confirmed that only a reprimand would be issued, allowing Hamilton to keep third place.
The result leaves the Ferrari driver 32 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship and softens the disappointment of missing out on second place after a late Safety Car pit stop ultimately proved unnecessary when the race finished under yellow.
Hamilton: “I had massive understeer”
Despite standing on the podium, Hamilton admitted his race was full of frustrations. Unlike Charles Leclerc, he was unable to match Ferrari’s pace because of an incorrect front wing setup, a mistake for which he accepted responsibility.
“First of all, congratulations to Charles. He did a fantastic job today,” Hamilton said. “As for me, we took too much front wing out of the car and I had massive understeer during the opening stint. I simply had no front end. We completely underestimated the front wing setup. That’s on me and my engineer. All the magic I had on Friday disappeared over the course of the weekend.”
In addition to the understeer issues, Lewis Hamilton’s race became even more difficult after he received a five-second penalty for moving slightly before the starting lights went out.
To make matters worse, Ferrari’s decision to pit him under the late Safety Car ended up costing him second place, handing the position to George Russell when the race finished behind the Safety Car.
“To be honest, it’s all a bit of a blur. I don’t remember everything clearly,” the Ferrari driver said. “Yes, I was running second and then we pitted. Maybe it could have been predicted that the race would finish behind the Safety Car, but we made the decision we believed was the right one.”
Why Hamilton avoided a yellow flag penalty
While celebrating on the podium at his home Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton feared he could still receive a penalty severe enough to drop him out of the points altogether because the field had crossed the finish line behind the Safety Car.
“I’ll probably get another penalty as well, so I’ll probably lose third place,” he admitted shortly after the race. “The FIA often has to react. I went through a yellow flag and I didn’t see it… False start, yellow flag. When it rains, it pours.”
After appearing before the stewards, however, the seven-time world champion escaped with only a reprimand, allowing him to retain his valuable podium finish.
The FIA acknowledged several mitigating circumstances in its official report:
“Hamilton entered the relevant sector before any yellow flag or yellow light panel had been displayed, and there was no such indication before Turn 9. The first light panel encountered after Turn 9 displayed green immediately before Turn 10. The yellow indication on the steering wheel display only appeared when the driver was already on the straight towards Turn 10 and close to the end of the yellow flag zone. Evidence showed there was no yellow warning light panel within the driver’s immediate field of vision, and the yellow indication on the steering wheel display remained visible only for a very brief period.”
In addition to the unclear warning regarding Nico Hulkenberg’s stranded Audi, the stewards accepted several other mitigating factors.
“The stewards accepted the explanation that the driver had very limited time to react to the yellow flag indication. They also acknowledged that immediately before entering the sector, Hamilton had been engaged in an overtaking manoeuvre with Verstappen and was anticipating a counterattack. As a result, his attention remained focused on his mirrors for most of the run towards Turn 10 rather than on the green light panel at the end of the sector. The stewards considered this when assessing whether the green light panel alone should have made it clear to the driver that he was still within a yellow flag zone.”
The FIA also explained why Hamilton nevertheless received his first reprimand of the season:
“The stewards determined that after the yellow indication appeared on the steering wheel display and the green light panel immediately before Turn 10 was illuminated, Hamilton did not make a perceptible reduction in speed and therefore did not fully comply with the requirements applicable under a single yellow flag. In determining the penalty, the stewards took into account that Hamilton had entered the sector before the yellow flag was displayed, that the yellow indication only reached him when he was already close to the end of the sector, that the available reaction time and distance were extremely limited, and that his attention was understandably occupied by the preceding battle. Under these circumstances, the stewards considered a reprimand to be the appropriate sanction.”
While Silverstone was a weekend of missed opportunities and technical challenges for the British driver, his ability to manage the race and escape with a podium finish keeps his championship aspirations alive as the season progresses.
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