The FIA has irked Formula 1 fans once again with its inconsistency in allowing hard racing as it hits Lewis Hamilton with a 5s time penalty during the Belgian GP Sprint. Following a slight touch with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez after Turn 14, the Mexican dropped down several places, and Hamilton having overtaken him, was slapped with a penalty.
Opening Shenanigans
There was chaos in the opening two laps of the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint as half the field pitted for inters on the first lap itself while the rest pitted after completing one lap on the full wets. The resulting pit-stop shuffle left Perez ahead of Hamilton. However, as has been the case throughout the weekend, the 7-time World Champion was extremely quick and closed up behind the Mexican driver.
Before the battle could heat up, Fernando Alonso made an uncharacteristic mistake in the mixed conditions and ended up in the barriers, bringing out the safety car on lap 3. Once the race resumed on lap 5, the battle began once again.
Also Read: Belgian GP: Max Verstappen fastest, but Charles Leclerc takes Pole at Spa
The Incident
In lap 6, as Perez and Hamilton went into turn 14, Perez made a mistake that put Hamilton right alongside him. The two drivers had a bit of contact with the Mexican coming off worse. What seemed like just a small moment turned out to be a lot more for Perez as he was overtaken by Carlos Sainz, and then Charles Leclerc. He reported a loss of rear grip, which he was already struggling with while making the original mistake against Hamilton.
Also Read: Belgian GP LIVE: Max Verstappen targets pole in Sprint shootout in Spa-Francorchamps – Follow F1 LIVE
The Aftermath
Bad became worse for the Mexican as he went off track into the gravel while trying to defend from Lando Norris, and slipped to P16 in the race. After a few laps, Red Bull called him into the pits to retire. While Perez was the loser in the incident, everyone who saw it deemed it to be a racing incident, especially given how slippery the conditions were.
This is why it shocked everyone when the FIA gave Hamilton a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision. With the FIA emphasizing hard racing since the 2021 season, this time penalty was even more unjust, adding to a series of misfortune that Hamilton has suffered from since last season.
While he remained unbothered with the penalty since it was just a sprint, it will be interesting to see if he can repeat his performance in the main race while starting higher up.
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