An overhead onboard camera has provided a revealing new view of the moment Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari made contact with a mechanic during a chaotic pit stop at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix. The angle looks directly across the cockpit and front of the SF-26, showing how little time separated the car’s release from the mechanic moving into its path.
Unlike the wider television shot, the camera above Lewis Hamilton’s car places viewers almost directly inside the incident. The Ferrari mechanic can be seen close to the front-right corner as the car begins to leave the pit box, before contact sends him off balance. Lewis Hamilton then stops rather than continuing down the pit lane.
Lewis Hamilton onboard shows the danger at the front-right wheel
The most striking detail in the footage is the restricted view available to everyone involved. From Lewis Hamilton’s position inside the cockpit, the halo, front wheels and bodywork limit how much of the immediate area beside the car can be seen. At the same time, the mechanic is operating in a crowded working space where several actions are being completed within seconds.
The onboard does not by itself explain every instruction exchanged within the Ferrari pit crew, but it clearly illustrates the consequences of the confusion. The mechanic moves towards the front-right side just as the car is released, leaving almost no margin for either person to react before the tyre reaches him.
The FIA stewards later confirmed that Lewis Hamilton had been given the green-light signal to depart. Their investigation found that a mechanic carrying a front-wing adjustment tool stepped into the path of the front-right tyre while looking down and did not notice the release signal. The stewards determined that Lewis Hamilton was not at fault and noted that he stopped immediately after realising what had happened.
Why the Ferrari pit stop became confused
Lewis Hamilton had entered the pits while carrying a five-second penalty, which had to be served before Ferrari could begin working on the car. Charles Leclerc was also occupying his pit box when his team-mate entered the pit lane, adding another element to an already complicated sequence.
According to the official decision, Lewis Hamilton had requested a front-wing adjustment, but that message was not passed to Ferrari’s super controller. Once the five-second penalty had expired, the tyre change began and a late instruction for a 0.6-degree wing adjustment was issued. The car was lowered and the green light activated just as the mechanic approached with the adjustment tool.
The footage makes the timing of those overlapping actions easier to understand than the original broadcast angle. It does not show the internal communications that caused the problem, but it captures the moment when the separate instructions collided physically around the car.
Ferrari fined after mechanic escapes injury
The mechanic fell after the contact but was not injured. Ferrari acknowledged that releasing the car in those circumstances was unsafe and attributed the incident to the late wing-adjustment instruction, unclear communication and the mechanic failing to see the green light.
Ferrari received a €30,000 fine, with €10,000 suspended for 12 months. The team must also submit a report to the FIA outlining the procedures introduced to reduce the risk of a similar incident. No sporting penalty was imposed on Lewis Hamilton, who retained fourth place, because the stewards concluded that he had followed the release signal and gained no advantage from what happened.
The overhead onboard therefore adds important visual context to the stewards’ findings. Rather than showing a driver continuing through the pit box without reacting, it captures a compressed and confused sequence in which Lewis Hamilton moved on the team’s signal, recognised the danger and stopped while the mechanic cleared the car.
Leave a Reply