Lewis Hamilton has questioned the “secrecy” of stewards’ decisions after his penalty at the Mexico City Grand Prix was not clear.
Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty for “leaving the track and gaining a permanent advantage” during his dramatic battle with Max Verstappen last time out in Mexico.
Verstappen was noted for cutting corners twice, once at the start and during the race with Hamilton, but no penalties were imposed for either incident.
Asked if he wanted to understand more about the stewards’ decision, Hamilton said: “There’s no clarity. I think it’s probably part of a larger issue of transparency and accountability.”
“The secret to making decisions happens in the background, and I think that’s definitely something that needs to be worked on, but I think it’s probably something that needs to be done in the background.
“I don’t know if they realize the weight of their decisions. As we’ve seen, they can ultimately steer their careers and decide the outcome of the championship. So they need to put in some effort.”
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Martin Brundle and Jacques Villeneuve talk about the harsh 10-second time penalty given to Lewis Hamilton at the Mexico City Grand Prix
George Russell was also baffled by drivers who allegedly cut corners with impunity, telling Sky Sports F1 it was a “get-out-of-jail-free card”.
He said changes needed to be made to the first corner of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez ahead of this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix.
“I was very, very surprised to see the drivers get away without a penalty,” said the Mercedes driver.
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Karun Chandhok analyzes whether Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton’s 10-second penalty for his wheel-to-wheel battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was given fairly
“Looking at Monza, I think if you miss the chicane you have to go through the polystyrene blocks and you lose a lot of time. The only solution would be to turn that whole section into gravel.
“Personally, I don’t like that corner at all. I don’t think it’s suitable for racing. There’s only one racing line in Turns 2 and 3, so you can’t fight in Turn 1 and continue fighting until Turn 4, like you can at a circuit like Bahrain, for example. If you can cut someone down and keep fighting until Turn 4, you won’t have any track limit problems.”
“We actually talked about this briefly before the race weekend. Personally, I think that corner needs to be completely changed.”
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Lewis Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty after going off track and gaining an advantage after a wheel-to-wheel collision with Max Verstappen
Hamilton: No opinion on Massa’s case
Former F1 driver Felipe Massa is awaiting a decision on whether his £64m legal claim against former F1 manager Bernie Ecclestone, F1 Management and their governing body the FIA will be pursued.
The Brazilian claims he was the rightful winner of the 2008 World Championship, which he lost to Hamilton by one point at the start of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix after a third-driver crash.
Massa is suing for breach of contract or duty, with lawyers claiming Mr Ecclestone knew Nelson Piquet Jr’s accident was intentional but he and the FIA failed to investigate.
Former Ferrari Formula driver Felipe Massa leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Mr Ecclestone, the FIA and F1 management are defending the claim and have asked London’s High Court to dismiss the case.
Last Friday, after a three-day hearing, Judge Jay said, “Sentence is reserved until a later date.”
Asked about the trial in Sao Paulo on Thursday, Hamilton said: “I have no opinion on it. I haven’t had any contact with it, I haven’t read it. It has nothing to do with me. So I’m just trying to arrive for the weekend and focusing on my job.”
“Whatever reasons Felipe has, I’m sure he has faith in him and that’s what he has to do.”
Sky Sports F1 Sao Paulo GP Schedule
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A look back at some of the most dramatic moments that happened at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Friday, November 7th
2:00pm: São Paulo GP Practice (Session starts at 2:30pm)*
4:30pm: Team representative press conference
6pm: São Paulo GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 6:30pm)*
Saturday, November 8th
1pm: Sao Paulo GP Sprint Build-up
2pm: São Paulo GP Sprint*
3:30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook
5pm: Sao Paulo GP qualifying build-up
6pm: Sao Paulo GP Qualifying
8pm: Ted’s Qualification Notebook
Sunday, November 9th
3:30pm: Sunday’s Grand Prix: Sao Paulo GP Build-up
5pm: Sao Paulo Grand Prix
7pm: Checkered flag: São Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted’s Notes
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil, with the São Paulo Grand Prix sprint weekend being broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
