Hamilton discovers stewards verdict over unsafe release after hitting mechanic

The seven-time world champion was under investigation for an unsafe pit release in which he knocked down a mechanic as he left his pit box. The mechanic attempted to make a quick last minute change to his front wing, only for Hamilton to be shown the green light giving him the go ahead to drive out of his box.

The mechanic was struck by Hamilton's car and fell to the floor but no injuries were reported in the incident. There had been some concern over whether Hamilton might receive a time penalty, after already serving a five second penalty for causing a collision which forced the retirement of George Russell.

It has now been confirmed that Hamilton has avoided a time penalty and will keep his fourth place finish from the Belgian Grand Prix. However, Ferrari have been handed a €30,000 fine of which €10,000 is suspended for 12 months on condition that the Competitor does not commit a similar infringement in the meantime.

Ferrari defended the incident by explaining that it happened in the "context of a complex and unusual combination of circumstances". The Brit, who came into the pits behind his teammate Charles Leclerc during a virtual safety car, told his engineer that he wanted a front wing adjustment, but this had not been conveyed to the super controller.

After serving a five second penalty for his contact with Russell, the report said that "one member of the team announced "Go" and then "0.6 degrees," the former being an instruction to commence the pit stop and the latter being an instruction for a wing adjustment.

"The tyre change was completed, the jack-man dropped the F1 Car and the super controller activated the green light signal for Car 44 to move off. Just as the driver moved off, another mechanic with a front wing tool moved forward into the path of the front right tyre. Before he stepped forward he had his head down looking at the tool and did not see the green light.

"The team acknowledged that for Car 44 to have been released in these circumstances was unsafe and attributed the error to an inappropriately late instruction for the wing adjustment, a lack of clear communication and the mechanic’s failure to notice the green light. The team committed to undertaking a review of their pit stop procedures to ensure an incident such as this will not be repeated."

The stewards determined that Hamilton was not at fault, and that it brought a sporting disadvantage to the Brit as it delayed him from driving out of the pits.

"The Stewards took into account the unusual combination of circumstances which contributed to the confusion within the team – circumstances which would not be in the usual contemplation of the team. For this reason, the Stewards determined to suspend part of the fine but on condition that the team conduct a review of their procedures and submit a report to the FIA outlining remedial steps to be taken."