The FIA did not clear him, but did not penalize George Russell with a serious penalty for his collision with Lewis Hamilton during qualifying practice in Barcelona.
The two Mercedes drivers collided at the finish line during the second quarter stage of the qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix. George Russell was leading, but because he wanted to do a couple of preparatory laps, he forced a slower pace than Lewis Hamilton, who was cutting in the wind, on a fast lap.
Russell was unaware of his teammate’s arrival, and Hamilton was unaware of what his teammate was about to do. The younger Briton was driving behind Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari when he swerved left and crossed the path of the other black car. The right side of the front wing was torn off.
Mercedes crash: Hamilton thought Russell wanted to help with the wind shield
Lewis Hamilton didn’t attach much importance to his collision with George Russell. He spoke of the misunderstanding before the investigation that awaited them.
After listening to the drivers and examining the evidence, the FIA issued a verbal warning to Russell, who escaped a relegation penalty and could therefore retain his 12th starting position.
The driver of car 63 claimed that as he was starting his fast lap he looked ahead and did not check the rear-view mirror. He was not informed by his team of the approaching car No. 44. It is a mitigating circumstance that he responded to the car in front of him (No. 55), which complemented his quick lap. Also, At the end of the exit lap, the driver of car 63 had to slow significantly to avoid cars 1 and 55″
– State the justification of the FIA.
Despite what happened, Hamilton made it into Q3, finishing fifth, but thanks to a double penalty from Pierre Gasly, he will start fourth on Sunday.
At Mercedes, the two drivers and team principal Toto Wolff also cited a communication misunderstanding that was the cause of the in-ring collision.
