The FIA is under fire for reopening an investigation against Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes driver was penalised for walking across a live track in Qatar.
Critics have questioned the FIA’s decision to review Lewis Hamilton’s penalty for crossing a live track at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Hamilton was spotted running across the Lusail International Circuit after colliding with George Russell on the first lap of the Qatar Grand Prix. This came after Russell had passed the point of incident before everyone else by the time the second lap got underway.
The stewards found this to be extremely risky, and they issued him a formal warning along with a fine of £34,700. However, if he refrains from repeating the breach for the rest of the season, only half of the fine is payable.
The stewards and the FIA have acknowledged that when Hamilton was summoned by the officials prior to receiving a penalty, he accepted his actions were unacceptable and was allegedly apologetic.
However, the governing body is looking into the incident once more since Hamilton has “role model status,” and they have concerns about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers.
With the seven-time World Champion being singled out for investigation, the FIA’s actions have generated a lot of criticism.
This does seem to be the case considering that rookie driver Logan Sargeant recently sprinted across the track after crashing out of Q1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. Additionally, three-time World Champion Max Verstappen crossed a live circuit following his crash with Hamilton at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton has allegedly received different treatment for no apparent reason other than how the FIA perceives him.
Former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Karun Chandhok says Hamilton is not the first driver to cross a live race track, indicating that he does not understand the actions taken by the regulatory body.
“Not saying this should be condoned but I’m sure Lewis isn’t the first person to do this… Didn’t Sargeant cross the track just at the previous event in Japan?” Chandhok wrote on Twitter/X.
“Bit odd to talk about precedent when other people have done it before.
“Max at Monza 2021 is another example I think…”
There has been a lot of discussion about the matter on social media, with some questioning whether the governing body simply exaggerated when they said they were revisiting the incident.
