British GP stewards decide on changing Sprint result after investigation | F1 | Sport

The points allocation given out for the result of the Sprint race at Silverstone on Saturday will NOT change after the stewards investigated an incident on track which made Isack Hadjar furious. It happened in the latter stages of the short-form race as Hadjar, in ninth place, was pushing for an overtake which would see him score a point.

In his way was Liam Lawson, who had qualified behind the Frenchman but had got the better of him earlier in the Sprint. But as Hadjar made a move to put that right, he had to press the brakes firmly to avoid a collision as Lawson cut across the track. “Man, that was crazy!” shouted Hadjar over the radio, before adding: “[Lawson] moved so hard under braking.”

Replays showed that Hadjar had initiated the move up the inside when Lawson came across and closed the door suddenly. The incident went to the stewards who decided whether they need to take any action.

The issue was not particularly hard-fought by Red Bull, given the relationship between the two teams as Racing Bulls are also owned by the Red Bull company. Both drivers are also graduates of the Red Bull academy system and have each driven for the other team in the past.

The stewards ultimately decided that Lawson would keep P8, and said in a statement: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), the driver of Car 6 (Isack Hadjar), the team representatives and reviewed video, telemetry and in-car video evidence.

“The matter concerned the defensive move by Car 30 on the approach to Turn 15 on Lap 16 while defending position against Car 6.

“The driver of Car 30 stated that, at the relevant time, he was still at full throttle and had not yet commenced braking, and that the movement of the car was part of deceleration and preparation for the corner rather than a movement under braking. The driver of Car 6 stated that the move by Car 30 was sharp, but also that sufficient room was left and that contact was avoided. In his view, the incident did not merit a penalty. He also referred to the fact that the two cars were on different energy levels, which made the closing speed difficult to judge.

“The Stewards accept that this was not a case of a significant change of direction after the braking phase had clearly commenced, and also accept that Car 30 left sufficient room for Car 6 to ensure that no contact occurred. The Stewards also accept that the different energy states of the two cars made the closing speed difficult for the driver of Car 30 to assess.

“However, the Stewards considered that the defensive move by Car 30 was sufficiently late and abrupt that it warranted a formal caution. Although the Stewards were not satisfied that the circumstances justified a stronger penalty, they considered that the move was marginally over the limit of what is acceptable when defending into a corner.

“Accordingly, the Stewards impose a Warning on the driver of Car 30.”

The Sprint was won by Kimi Antonelli, who started behind Lewis Hamilton on the grid and failed to get past at the first corner as the Ferrari driver held his line well.

But he eventually was powerless to stop the quicker Mercedes from sweeping past with the help of a battery boost, once he had seen off a challenge from Lando Norris and moved back to within a second of the leader.

As Hamilton’s battery ran out of charge along the Hangar Straight, Antonelli made his move and from there the race was his. He quickly broke out of overtake mode range and crossed the finish line 2.7 seconds ahead of Hamilton, setting the fastest lap of the Sprint on the final lap.

“It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis,” said Antonelli. “We were both pushing very hard. When I got into overtake [mode], I knew my chance was coming.

“Out of turn four I was very close, so I went alongside into Brooklyns but he used the boost, so I decided to wait. Going into Stowe I used everything I had, then I was able to overtake.

“From that point on I tried to get into my rhythm and try to break the overtake mode [which you get when you are within one second of the driver in front] then bring it home.”