Mercedes was too late: ''Even then we thought they wouldn't like it''

The punishment for Lewis Hamilton has caused a great deal of controversy. The Briton made two test starts where he was not allowed to and was punished twice for five seconds. Mercedes explained the situation.

Prior to the Grand Prix, drivers may always make a test start on their way to the grid. This usually happens in a section at the end of the pit lane, but this section was not there now. Hamilton wanted to start from a different place anyway, but had to pay for it with a penalty of ten seconds in total.

Mercedes saw start too late

''Sometimes they have drawn a spot on the ground but they have to and sometimes it's just a certain zone. However, drivers and engineers are always pushing the limits, because we want to practice a start that is more like the place where you will start in the race. Lewis asked if he could stand a little further and we liked that," says Andrew Shovlin according to Motorsport.com. What Mercedes didn't know, however, was how far Hamilton had gone.

''We hadn't realised how far he had gone and hadn't seen his first images. When we saw the images of the second start we knew they wouldn't like that. However, we didn't think it was dangerous and since the rules said on the right side of the pit exit, they could have taken it off with a warning'', concludes the Mercedes engineer.