Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton found themselves fighting in the final stages of the Miami GP, but their incident was noted by the stewards. The race ended with a McLaren one-two: Oscar Piastri won ahead of Lando Norris. Third place went to George Russell.
Behind them, there was a scrap for much of the Grand Prix. The two Ferraris found themselves fighting with the Williams of Carlos Sainz; first Charles Leclerc against his former teammate, then Lewis Hamilton also had an on-track clash with the Spaniard.
And it was precisely on the last lap, just before the chequered flag, that car #55 attempted a risky overtake on the Briton. The two came very close and pushed the limits, to the point that they may have touched. In the end, car #44 held on to eighth place, while the Williams driver followed in ninth.
The incident between Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton was immediately noticed by the race stewards, who were to decide the outcome after the race. If the Spaniard were to receive a penalty, it would mean dropping out of the points. Not a good way to end a weekend which, excluding the Sprint Race, had seen him fairly competitive in a car he is still getting to know.
For Lewis Hamilton, the same situation: he would also fall out of the points, concluding a rather anonymous weekend in which, apart from the Sprint, he remained relatively under the radar.
The official decision after the incident
Here is the decision from the race stewards. No penalty for Carlos Sainz or Lewis Hamilton.
“Car 55 attempted an overtake on the inside of car 44 at Turn 17,” reads the official FIA document. “The stewards determined that both drivers contributed to the incident.”
“Car 55 was not clearly in a position to have the right to fight. At the same time, car 44 turned into the corner earlier than usual and this affected car 55’s overtaking attempt. Neither driver was predominantly to blame for the incident,” the document concludes.
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