Lewis Hamilton has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the Dutch Grand Prix following an incident in qualifying where he impeded Sergio Perez. The Mercedes driver was investigated after obstructing Perez at turn nine while on an in-lap. Despite attempting to move aside, Hamilton wasn’t able to clear the way in time, leading to frustration from the Red Bull driver.
Perez, who was on a fast lap, expressed his anger over the team radio, exclaiming, “What the f**k is this idiot doing?” He added, “For worse than that I’ve been penalized, so I don’t expect any less.”
The stewards confirmed that Hamilton did indeed block Perez, stating in their official verdict: “The driver of Car 44, being on an in-lap, was informed by the team that Car 11 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.”
Perez, who eventually qualified in fifth place, blamed the incident for affecting his performance, saying, “Yeah, that was unfortunate. I think it was the wrong time, wrong moment. Lewis was on the racing line, so there was nothing I could do other than fitting another set, which was very costly in Q3.”
Hamilton defended his actions, stating, “I did absolutely do my best to try and be as far out of the way as possible. It just didn’t work.” Reflecting on the session, Hamilton added, “The car was massively snappy today. Yesterday was a lot of understeer, and then we tried to dial that out and went more the other way.”
The penalty adds to an already challenging weekend for Hamilton, who failed to reach Q3, qualifying in 12th place. The penalty would have dropped him to 15th on the grid, but due to Alex Albon’s disqualification, Hamilton will start the race from 14th position.
As Hamilton faces a tough race ahead, the penalty serves as a significant setback in his pursuit of a strong finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.
