The stewards of the Abu Dhabi F1 GP, which includes four ex-F1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi, ruled Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) not at fault after breaking the red flag in FP3 on Saturday (19th).
Lando Norris (McLaren) reported over the radio that Hamilton had overtaken himself and Haas when the red flags were waved after #10 AT03 Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) fell out of debris.
Hamilton’s speed was 288km/h and Magnussen’s was 126km/h when the overtake took place, and the speed difference reached 162km/h.
After the session, the stewards questioned Hamilton himself and the team representatives, as well as locating/marshaling system data, telemetry, team radio, and film in the vehicle, as they suspected he had not slowed down sufficiently.
The stewards said it was “out of the question” that Hamilton overtook car #20 (Kevin Magnussen) during the red flags.
Hamilton, who was in the timed lap, explained that he returned the throttle immediately after the red flag was shown, applied the brakes, and checked the mirror for the following car. He admitted that he overtook Magnussen that time.
The stewards examined telemetry data and confirmed that Hamilton had returned full throttle and applied the brakes shortly after the red flag was shown. “At the time the red light came on, we immediately slowed down in a safe manner and took all reasonable steps to comply with the regulations,” he concluded.
The stewards also referred to a precedent involving Max Verstappen at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, stating that the decision had been made without penalty under similar circumstances.
