In a dramatic turn of events at the Zandvoort Circuit, seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will start the Dutch Grand Prix from 15th on the grid after receiving a three-place grid penalty. The penalty was handed down by the stewards following an incident during qualifying, where Hamilton was deemed to have impeded Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez.
The Mercedes driver, who struggled throughout the qualifying session, managed to set only the 12th fastest time. Hamilton’s performance was hampered by issues with the balance of his car, which he described as “massively snappy.” However, his difficulties on the track were compounded by the penalty for impeding Pérez during the opening session of qualifying.
The incident occurred at Turn 9, where Hamilton was caught on the outside of the track while on an in-lap. Pérez, who was on a fast lap, approached Hamilton, forcing the Red Bull driver to abort his attempt. The stewards reviewed the incident and concluded that Hamilton’s actions had unnecessarily impeded Pérez, resulting in the penalty.
In their official statement, the stewards outlined the sequence of events that led to their decision: “The driver of Car 44 [Hamilton], being on an in lap, was informed by the team that Car 11 [Pérez] was approaching on a fast lap when he entered Turn 8. He then drove off line at the exit of Turn 8 with the intention to give way for Car 11. However, when Car 11 arrived, Car 44 had already entered Turn 9 and drove back towards the racing line at the exit of Turn 9, thereby clearly impeding Car 11.”
The statement further elaborated on Hamilton’s actions, suggesting that while he had been adequately warned by his team about Pérez’s approach, he did not take sufficient measures to avoid hindering the Red Bull car. “The stewards determine that, whilst there has been appropriate warning by the team and albeit the driver tried to move out of the way, he could have slowed down more in order not to impede the other car and therefore consider the impeding to be unnecessary in the sense of the regulations. Therefore, a grid drop is applied in line with previous decisions.”
Speaking about his challenging qualifying session, Hamilton did not hold back in his assessment. “We changed the car [setup] quite a lot and it was a nightmare today,” he admitted. “The car was massively snappy. Yesterday was a lot of understeer and then we tried to dial that out and went too far the other way.”
Hamilton’s frustration was evident as he described the sequence of events leading up to the penalty: “It just went downhill like a domino effect from the moment with Checo [Pérez]. Then the balance just got more and more snappy, more and more oversteer-y. It was terrible.”
As Hamilton prepares to start the race from the 15th position, the penalty marks a significant setback in his quest to secure a strong finish at the Dutch Grand Prix. With the championship battle intensifying, every point counts, and Hamilton will have to mount a formidable comeback if he hopes to salvage a respectable result on race day.
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