A three-page document dealt Lewis Hamilton the next World Cup blow on a disastrous weekend in Brazil. An irregular rear wing on his Mercedes negotiated the disqualification from the start chase for the Englishman. The race stewards recognized a technical violation in their judgment on Saturday and, after his pole position on the previous day, moved the 36-year-old to the back for the sprint race in the evening (8.30 p.m. / Sky).
World Championship leader Max Verstappen benefited from this punishment and was allowed to start from first place in the new format over 24 laps at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. But the Dutchman had to fear himself beforehand. Verstappen received a fine of 50,000 euros for violating the provisions of the so-called Parc Fermé.
In the world championship standings, Hamilton is already 19 points behind Verstappen
The race stewards saw it as proven that he had illegally touched the rear of his Red Bull and especially that of his rival Hamilton during the technical inspection on Friday. “It is clear to the stewards that it has become a habit of the drivers to touch the cars after qualifying and the races,” the race stewards wrote on Saturday: “This general tendency was seen as largely harmless and was therefore not punished consistently . Nevertheless, it is a violation of the Parc Fermé regulation and has a considerable potential for damage. ” Verstappen touched the rear of Hamilton’s car with “insignificant force”.
Mercedes later declared itself that the inspection of the championship leader had unlikely to lead to the defect at the rear. Nevertheless, the penalty for Hamilton with the disqualification was brutal. A new engine had already been used illegally on his company car on Friday. This means that the 36-year-old has to drop five places in the fourth last race of the season on Sunday (6 p.m.). With the new drive, Hamilton had left his rival Verstappen behind by more than four-tenths in the start chase.
The stewards of the world motor sport federation Fia accused the Briton that the rear wing on his Silver Arrow was bent too much. Measurements confirmed the suspicion. The so-called Drag Reduction System (DRS), which increases the speed on the straights, gave Hamilton an illegal advantage. The stewards at least accepted the Mercedes declaration that something “went wrong” when the acceptance test was not passed and that there was no intention to do so. But that doesn’t help Hamilton either. In the World Cup he is already 19 points behind Verstappen. The winner of the sprint can get three points.