The thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix created a lot of talking points. The biggest talking point of the weekend was the controversial restart incident involving Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. But there was a lot of confusion as to why Hamilton escaped the incident without a penalty.
The incident occurred on the lead up to the restart. As Hamilton allowed the safety car to return to the pits before reaching the start/finish straight, he appeared to brake-test the close following Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari. The pair made contact, causing a substantial amount of damage to Vettel’s front wing. In anger, Vettel pull up alongside the Mercedes and made intentional wheel-to-wheel contact before returning behind the Mercedes.
The only driver to get a penalty from the incident was Vettel, having been handed a 10 second stop and go penalty around the same time Hamilton pitted to have his headrest replaced. The penalty was not for the original incident, but instead for Vettel’s “dangerous driving” when he intentionally bumped into Hamilton after the incident.
Hamilton escaped penalty, but some fans were confused why. The FIA investigation was conducted during the race, where the stewards reviewed cameras, radio and telemetry. According to the investigation, Hamilton did nothing wrong in the incident.
The car’s telemetry revealed that Hamilton had not braked or lifted off of the accelerator completely and that his previous restarts had been conducted in the same way. The investigation suggests that Hamilton was going at a relatively consistent speed.
The 10 second stop and go penalty during the race is done and over with, but there is still something hanging over Vettel’s head. This incident today warranted three penalty points to be added to Vettel’s license, bringing his 12 month total to nine. The current regulations allow for up to 11 points, meaning Vettel is three points away from a race ban. He will need to watch his behavior in Austria.
