No penalty for Lewis Hamilton: How Pierre Gasly saved Ferrari’s P5 starting spot. Lewis Hamilton has avoided a grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver cleared by stewards after Q1 impeding investigation ahead of a potentially wet Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton had to wait until late on Saturday evening to receive confirmation that he would keep fifth place on the starting grid for the Canadian Grand Prix.

A few hours after qualifying ended, the FIA summoned the Ferrari driver to appear before the stewards over an alleged impeding incident involving Pierre Gasly during Q1. The investigation created uncertainty around Lewis Hamilton’s grid position, with the possibility of a penalty threatening to derail what had otherwise been one of his most encouraging weekends since joining Ferrari.

The four stewards assigned to review the case examined telemetry data, television footage, and CCTV recordings before hearing statements from the drivers involved and representatives from both teams.

Lewis Hamilton defended himself by explaining that he had not believed Pierre Gasly was on a flying lap at the time of the incident. Ferrari’s pit wall had reached the same conclusion and therefore did not warn the seven-time world champion about the approaching Alpine behind him.

However, the decisive factor proved to be Pierre Gasly’s own testimony. The French driver told the stewards that he did not consider the incident to be a case of “unnecessary impeding,” making it clear that he did not feel genuinely obstructed by the Ferrari’s presence on track. That position ultimately led the stewards to close the case without taking further action.

For Lewis Hamilton, the verdict came as a major relief at the end of a day that had otherwise represented one of his most promising performances since becoming a Ferrari driver. The British racer spoke positively about the work completed by the team throughout the Montreal weekend.

“It was probably the best qualifying session we’ve had in quite a long time,” Lewis Hamilton commented. “We did a really good job together with the engineers. We made some setup changes that allowed me to find a good feeling with the car straight away from free practice.”

Even a relatively small grid penalty could have significantly complicated Lewis Hamilton’s race prospects, especially given the increasingly uncertain weather forecast for Sunday.

The latest weather updates released late on Saturday evening confirmed rain arriving at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from the early hours of Sunday morning. While the precipitation may ease shortly before lights out, several question marks remain over track conditions.

Low temperatures and the Canadian circuit’s less-than-ideal drainage could make visibility one of the biggest challenges during the race. In that kind of scenario, starting near the front could provide a crucial advantage, particularly in the opening laps when the field remains tightly packed and heavy spray could dramatically reduce visibility for drivers further back.

The stewards’ decision to clear Lewis Hamilton of any impeding infractions preserves a vital tactical baseline for Ferrari ahead of a highly unpredictable race. Securing a clean P5 starting slot keeps the British veteran firmly in the podium hunt, especially with severe rain and low track temperatures threatening to completely tear up the established dry-weather form guide. As the engineering department monitors the shifting weather radars and fine-tunes their wet-weather tire pressure maps, Hamilton’s proven mastery in changing conditions, combined with his clean track position, gives the Scuderia a fantastic opportunity to convert a promising qualifying display into a massive championship points haul.