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FIA Clears Lewis Hamilton Following Spanish Grand Prix Investigation
The FIA has delivered its verdict following an investigation involving Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix, ultimately deciding not to issue any penalties to the seven-time Formula 1 world champion.
Hamilton, now racing for Ferrari in his debut season with the Scuderia, took to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday for qualifying. It was his first time at the iconic Spanish track as a Ferrari driver—a circuit where he has previously secured six wins during his career. In a solid qualifying performance, the 40-year-old British driver managed to outpace his teammate Charles Leclerc, securing P5 on the grid for Sunday’s race. Leclerc, by contrast, could only qualify P7, with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli slotting between the two Ferrari drivers.
Shortly after the session, however, the FIA announced that Hamilton, along with Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll, was under investigation for allegedly breaching Article 33.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Article 12.2.1 i) of the FIA International Sporting Code. The alleged infraction was driving too slowly between the two Safety Car lines during qualifying—specifically, exceeding the maximum time limit of 1 minute and 25 seconds.
To determine whether any rule-breaking had occurred, the stewards conducted a thorough review of the relevant data. This included timing information, GPS and marshalling data, and footage from onboard cameras and CCTV. After analyzing all the evidence, the stewards concluded that while the drivers did exceed the 1:25.0 limit in certain areas, they had done so responsibly.
According to the official FIA statement, “All drivers concerned stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below 1:25.0 around the vast majority of the circuit. However, in all cases the stewards determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and in all cases, they slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass while giving those drivers a clear track.”
Given these findings, the stewards ruled that Hamilton and the other drivers were not guilty of driving “unnecessarily slowly.” As a result, no further action has been taken, allowing Hamilton to retain his P5 grid position.
Despite enduring a challenging start to life at Ferrari—where he has generally trailed Leclerc and struggled to adapt to the new car—Hamilton was optimistic about his performance heading into Sunday’s race. The Barcelona qualifying session marked just the second time in nine race weekends that he has outqualified his teammate.
Reflecting on the improvement, Hamilton said, “Definitely an improvement from where we’ve been, definitely an improvement I would say from my qualifying side.” He acknowledged the close competitiveness among the top drivers but expressed hope of securing his first podium of the season outside of sprint races. “It’s going to be close. It’s really close between us all, so I’m going to try and get on the podium for once,” he added.
With no penalty to worry about, Hamilton now turns his attention to delivering a strong performance on Sunday in hopes of adding another podium to his storied career.
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