Lewis Hamilton and a Ferrari team representative have been summoned by the British Grand Prix stewards to explain a potential breach of Formula 1 yellow flag regulations.
The FIA summons document does not specify the exact time of the alleged infringement, although race control indicated during the race that it concerned an incident at 4:03:34 BST.
This was shortly after Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg came to a halt on the approach to the National Pit Straight.
At that point, Hamilton was battling Max Verstappen, whom he had overtaken just moments earlier on lap 38.
Hamilton was required to appear before the stewards immediately after the podium ceremony, at 5:00pm BST. The stewarding panel this weekend consists of Gerd Ennser, Tanja Geilhausen, Mathieu Remmerie, Pedro Lamy and Richard Norbury.
The Ferrari driver admitted that he expects to lose his British GP podium finish as a result of it.
“I’m probably going to get a penalty right now as well, so I’ll probably lose it. I went through a yellow flag and I didn’t see it”, Hamilton told Sky.
“So I jumped start and then the yellow flag. When it rains, it pours.
“I’ve just been to see them, that’s it. I don’t have an answer yet, but most likely I’ll get something. I’ll probably get a penalty, I’m sure.”
During the race Lewis Hamilton had already received a five-seconds penalty for moving too early at the start.
Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images
During the race, the seven-time world champion had already received a five-second time penalty for moving before the start lights had gone out.
He served that penalty during his first pitstop, which consequently lasted 8.8 seconds. Ferrari had deliberately chosen not to inform Hamilton about the penalty before he pitted, although the Briton admitted afterwards that he already realised that he had moved too early.
The stewards explained their decision as follows: “The Stewards determined that after the third red light was illuminated, and before the start signal was given, Car 44 moved. This was clearly visible on the on-board footage by reference to the yellow Pirelli lettering on the tyre, which rotated upwards and forwards before the lights were extinguished.
“The fact that the movement was limited does not negate the infringement. Any such movement in that interval constitutes a false start/moving before the start signal.
“The Stewards therefore find that Car 44 was in breach of Article B5.11.1 of the FIA F1 Regulations and impose the standard penalty for minor movements.”
Although Hamilton still managed to secure a podium finish despite that penalty, any additional sanction for the yellow-flag infringement would carry far greater consequences.
As the race finished behind the safety car, even a five-second time penalty would drop Hamilton from third to 14th place.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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