Lewis Hamilton avoided a penalty for his red flag violation during the last Formula One practise session in Abu Dhabi by taking "every possible step" to slow down.
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Following FP3 at the Yas Marina Circuit, Hamilton was summoned by the stewards after overtaking Lando Norris and Kevin Magnussen when a red flag was thrown during the session. Hamilton was on a flying lap when he overtook both drivers on the right side of the track before slowing down, which usually results in a grid penalty. However, after reviewing the data and speaking with Hamilton about the event, the stewards determined that he done everything possible to slow down safely, prompting them to take no action.
Data from Hamilton’s car showed that he lifted the throttle completely and applied firm braking pressure when the red light appeared, but there was still a speed difference of 162 km/h between the two cars. “It is our judgement that the driver of Car 44 made every reasonable action to comply with the regulations in that he immediately decreased speed in a safe manner at the first indication of the red light,” the stewards concluded.
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Although the stewards acknowledged that it was technically a violation of the International Sporting Code, which prohibits overtaking under a red flag, they said Hamilton “could not avoid overtaking Car 20 [Magnussen] in this case and thus the stewards determine to apply no penalty.” The stewards also looked at the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix, where a similar incident involving Max Verstappen resulted in no penalty being taken against him. Hamilton enters Sunday’s race in Abu Dhabi with one final chance to end his winless season and continue his streak of winning a grand prix in each of his F1 seasons.
The seven-time world champion led FP1 on Friday before sliding to fourth in second practise, feeling Red Bull had a competitive advantage over Mercedes going into qualifying. Sergio Perez led a 1-2 for Red Bull ahead of Verstappen in FP3, with Hamilton 0.240s down in third.
