Federation International Automobile, the governing body for world motor sports, has slammed a €50,000 fine on Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton for his action after crashing into his teammate, George Russell at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The punishment was meted out following the review of the incident which saw Hamilton going over the track after crashing out at the first corner in a heavy collision with team-mate George Russell as an offense worthy of a penalty.
Prior to their decision to fine Hamilton, The FIA announced a week after the incident at the Qatar Grand Prix that they were reviewing Hamilton’s conduct and also raised concerns about the impression his actions may have created on upcoming drivers due to his role model status.
According to the details of the fine, Hamilton is expected to pay 50 percent of the fine and the other half was suspended on the condition of non-repetition of such action for the rest of the year.
Hamilton affirmed that he had a meeting with the Federation International Automobile ahead of the United States Grand Prix and pledged his utmost cooperation in ensuring no repeats of what happened at the Qatar Grand Prix over a week ago.
The official statement from FIA regarding the incident left many others pondering if he was singled out for such punishments. However, the seven-time world champion has played down the comments insisting that it was just a communication flaw from FIA.
In his words “I don’t believe I was singled out, it was just a communication issue and I Don’t think they meant it that way. I think they’re going to look for ways to ensure it doesn’t repeat itself.”
“There’s also been a recent case of a kid that was hit so we need to focus on safety in the profession. I just feel they need to speak with their Public Relations Agents to do a better job in Communicating these things,” he added.
Following the Qatar incident, Hamilton was also reprimanded officially by the Formula 1 Stewards, his first since he started professional motor racing.
