It came one week after Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with George Russell on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix, sending his former team-mate into the gravel and out of the race. Two weeks before that, he was hampered by another five-second penalty at Silverstone for jumping the start of the British Grand Prix.
A third penalty in as many race weekends has prompted a passionate social media post from Hamilton, who wrote to his 43.5million Instagram followers: “Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. Another weekend when I’ve been feeling great throughout all the sessions, but then it just falls apart. To go from being so close to pole to then starting P5 is extremely frustrating.
“I always do my best to keep positive – sport is always about the highs and lows, but it’s also in the margins. Every point counts and you have to seize every opportunity. After three penalties in three weekends, it’s becoming difficult to hang on to that positivity.
“Still, I won’t let the setbacks take away from the progress we’ve been making as a team. With the pace we have, I’m hopeful we can get something out of the race tomorrow. The car has been feeling better and better, and we’ve been competitive all weekend. We’ll keep working hard together to give ourselves the best possible chance tomorrow. I always enjoy this track, so keep the faith and send good vibes for the race.”
Despite Hamilton’s frustration, this penalty in particular was seen by most as an open-shut case. Replays from the camera mounted on board Piastri’s car showed the slow-moving Ferrari ahead was dawdling on the racing line heading into turn one and the Australian was forced to abort his lap.
Explaining their decision to penalise Hamilton, the stewards said: “The driver of Car 44 [Hamilton] explained that he had just completed a fast lap and did not receive the team’s radio message regarding the approaching Car 81 [Piastri] until the latter was already in close proximity.
“He further stated that, due to the positioning of his car on the track, Car 81 was not visible in his mirrors. Car 81, which was on a push lap, was forced to take avoiding action by running wide and being obliged to abort the lap. Having examined the available evidence, the stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81.”