Hamilton promises: "They won't catch me for it again, that's for sure"

It is not often that we see Lewis Hamilton making a mistake and being punished by the competition management. In 2020, however, the seven-time world champion was punished four times in three races. He has learned his lesson.

Penalties for Hamilton

During the first Grand Prix in Austria Hamilton picked up a penalty. A collision with Alexander Albon resulted in a five-second penalty, making him only fourth in the end. During the Italian Grand Prix he got a ten-second stop-and-go penalty because he drove into a closed pit lane. During this race, he finished seventh.

The penalty that bothered him the most, however, was his double five-second penalty for making practice starts where he was not allowed to. He did not hide his anger and called it ridiculous. He has since come back from that. "Sometimes you say things in the heat of the moment," he says on Motorsport-Total.com. "I think it's a human reaction. Looking back, we could have done things differently."

Lesson learned

Hamilton believes that sport has taken a good step this year. "Although I rarely get to see the stewards, I think the respect between us [drivers], the FIA and the stewards has grown - and so has the understanding.”

In any case, the Mercedes driver did learn his lesson last season. "They won't catch me for it again, that's for sure," Hamilton promises. "I just have to be very vigilant and conscientious. Of course, as an athlete, I always try to look for the edge. It’s a thin line. I've learned from it and it won't happen again."