Lewis Hamilton will retain fourth place in the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix after the FIA confirmed that the Ferrari driver would receive no further penalty following an unsafe release investigation. Ferrari has instead been fined €30,000 for the pit stop incident, during which a mechanic was struck by the right-front wheel of Hamilton’s SF-26.
The verdict removes the threat of a post-race time penalty that could have altered both the Belgian Grand Prix classification and the championship standings. Lewis Hamilton therefore keeps the points secured with his recovery to fourth place at Spa-Francorchamps, as confirmed in the full 2026 Belgian Grand Prix results.
Lewis Hamilton cleared after Belgian GP unsafe release investigation
The incident occurred during Lewis Hamilton’s pit stop after the seven-time world champion had served the five-second penalty imposed for his opening-lap collision with George Russell. The contact had eliminated the Mercedes driver from the race and prompted the stewards to issue Hamilton with a sanction for causing the incident. The full sequence began with the Lewis Hamilton and George Russell collision on the opening lap.
Once the five seconds had elapsed, Ferrari completed the tyre change and released the SF-26 from its pit box. At that moment, a mechanic carrying a front-wing adjustment tool stepped into the path of the car’s right-front tyre. The mechanic was knocked over as Lewis Hamilton moved forward, although the FIA confirmed that he was not injured.
Race Control immediately placed car number 44 under investigation for an unsafe release. The matter was not resolved during the Grand Prix, with the stewards instead announcing that it would be examined after the race. That created uncertainty over whether Lewis Hamilton could lose fourth place through an additional time penalty following the earlier five-second Belgian GP sanction.
Why Ferrari was fined but Lewis Hamilton received no penalty
After hearing from Ferrari’s representative and reviewing the video evidence, the stewards determined that the unsafe release had resulted from a complex and unusual sequence of events inside the Ferrari pit box.
Charles Leclerc was still in Ferrari’s pit box when Lewis Hamilton entered the pit lane. Hamilton had also requested a front-wing adjustment, but the instruction had not been communicated to the pit stop supervisor before the car arrived.
After Hamilton had served his five-second penalty, one member of the crew announced “Go” and then “0.6 degrees”. According to the FIA document, the first instruction indicated that work on the car could begin, while the second referred to the requested front-wing adjustment.
The tyre change was completed, the front jack was lowered and Ferrari’s pit stop controller activated the green light authorising Lewis Hamilton to leave the box. However, another mechanic then moved forward with the front-wing tool and stepped into the path of the right-front tyre. The FIA noted that the mechanic had his head down while looking at the tool and therefore did not see that the green light had been activated.
FIA places responsibility on Ferrari’s pit stop procedure
Ferrari acknowledged that car number 44 had been released in unsafe circumstances. The team attributed the incident to the late instruction regarding the front-wing adjustment, a lack of clear communication and the mechanic’s failure to notice the green release signal.
The stewards ruled that Lewis Hamilton was not at fault, meaning no time penalty or other sporting sanction was applied to the driver. Ferrari was instead fined €30,000 for breaching Article B1.6.2a of the FIA Formula 1 Regulations.
Of that total, €10,000 has been suspended for 12 months on the condition that Ferrari does not commit a similar infringement during that period. The suspension is also conditional upon the team submitting a report to the FIA within 14 days explaining the incident and outlining the protocols it will introduce to reduce the risk of a similar pit stop accident occurring in the future.
Ferrari also committed to reviewing its pit stop procedures. For Lewis Hamilton, the decision means his fourth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps is secure and no further positions will be lost following an eventful Belgian Grand Prix.
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