Did Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton hold up the two McLarens driven by Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1 qualifying in Baku? The sports stewards of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) dealt with this question. And they came to the conclusion: No, Hamilton did nothing wrong. The seven-time world champion was consequently acquitted.
But what happened? At 4:59 p.m. Hamilton had started another warm-up lap in Q2. He radioed, “Is someone behind me?” His race engineer Peter Bonnington said yes: “Norris on a warm-up lap and Ricciardo.”
Shortly thereafter, Hamilton slowed down significantly, left the ideal line and went to the left side of the track. And for a few seconds Hamilton drove very slowly, so Bonnington radioed again: “Think of the Delta, come on, don’t slow down!” Then Hamilton accelerated and prepared for his flying lap.
What Hamilton was accused of
Directly behind Hamilton, however, Norris and Ricciardo had already caught up. And because the McLaren drivers didn’t walk past the Mercedes, it looked like they might have been held up by Hamilton.
This was also the allegation during the investigation by the sports stewards: Hamilton may have violated Article 33.4 of the Sporting Regulations. And that article states: “A car must never be driven unnecessarily slowly, incorrectly, or in a manner potentially dangerous to others.”
Hamilton was not aware of any guilt, but explained immediately after qualifying on “Sky”: “I’m not really worried about that. First of all: I was off the line. You also have to stay within a guideline time. I have it complied with, so I’m not slowing down [als erlaubt] hazards.”
Hamilton admits that he deliberately delayed
However, he admits that he deliberately delayed. “I was looking for a slipstream because we are so slow on the straights, among the slowest,” explains Hamilton, adding: “But the people behind me didn’t want to pass. Then I got dressed and did my lap.”
That’s how the sports commissioners interpret it. Her investigation report read: “[Hamilton] was slow, but he kept to the target time. He also veered off the line to the left and did so on a straight where visibility was not a problem. There was never a potential danger.” Ergo the acquittal.
Hamilton had already foreseen this: “If I had stayed over the delta time, then I could understand it, but like that, I don’t see a problem there.”
Also acquitted Norris
There was also an acquittal by the sports commissioners for Norris, who had been suspected of having stopped Ricciardo behind him. Here the sports stewards state: “[Ricciardo] had enough space to [Norris] to overtake if he wanted to.” And: “All three cars were on warm-up laps.”
The whole thing, however, reminded Hamilton of Barcelona, as he says. “There were cars that just completely ignored the delta time. They drove ridiculously slowly. I think one or two got penalized for that, with a warning or something. But they drove incredibly slow.”
“With that,” says Hamilton, “they certainly gained five degrees in tire temperature. That’s why they were [auf der schnellen Runde danach] so fast I still remember: when they sneaked around, I passed them. Anyway, today I was within delta time, I was off the line and it wasn’t dangerous.”