A recent incident at the second free practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix resulted in a warning for Lewis Hamilton and a €15,000 fine for the Mercedes F1 team.

The Issue

The matter stemmed from a near-miss event between Hamilton and Williams driver Logan Sargeant. The seven-time champion’s act was initially declared as a breach of Article 37.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations as he was visibly impeding the American’s car.

According to Hamilton’s defense, he was only maneuvering to get out of the way of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. He didn’t realize that Sargeant was also on a lap that time. Consequently, the latter had to steer out of the track to avoid a potentially high-speed collision with the Mercedes car.

An investigation by F1 officials eventually cleared Hamilton of any penalties but he was issued a warning. However, the communications over the team radio clearly pointed to a failure of Mercedes F1’s technical crew to warn their driver of a possible impact at turn 11 of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The group was then fined €15,000 for its omission.

Mercedes F1 Heading to the Saudi Arabian GP

The Jeddah circuit is considered to be the third longest track in F1 and it used to be the longest street circuit until the arrival of the Las Vegas GP. The 27-corner layout of the venue as well as the windy March climate will surely prove to be a challenge to all racers this Sunday.

Mercedes F1 comes fresh from its fifth and seventh finishes at last Sunday’s Bahrain GP. It currently sits third in the Constructors rankings at 16 points, thanks to George Russell’s 10 points and Hamilton’s 6 points after the race.