Ferrari has been fined €30,000 ($34,314; £25,508) for an unsafe release after Lewis Hamilton accidentally hit a mechanic during a pit stop at the Belgian Grand Prix.
A third of the fine, €10,000, is suspended for 12 months on condition Hamilton does not commit a similar offence, and that Ferrari submits a report to the FIA within 14 days about the incident, including protocols the team has put in place to reduce the risk of a similar incident happening again.
The result of the post-race investigation means the seven-time world champion retains the fourth-placed finish which lifted him to second in the drivers’ championship, 45 points behind leader and Belgian GP winner Kimi Antonelli.
During Sunday’s race, Hamilton had pitted during the virtual safety car period, serving his five-second penalty that stemmed from his first-lap incident with George Russell and receiving a tire change.
The 41-year-old expected a front wing adjustment, too, only for confusion to unfold at the end of the stop.
Ferrari double stacked their drivers, bringing in Hamilton immediately after Charles Leclerc.
Team boss Fred Vasseur explained to reporters after the race that mechanics were not told about the front wing adjustment while serving the penalty in order to avoid anyone accidentally touching the car too early.
When the tire change was completed, the car was dropped, and the light turned green, which led to Hamilton reacting while the mechanic was working.
“Just as the driver moved off, another mechanic with a front wing tool moved forward into the path of the front-right tire,” the stewards’ report read.
“Before he stepped forward he had his head down looking at the tool and did not see the green light.”
Hamilton said after the race that he “stopped as soon as I could,” and confirmed his mechanic was up and moving.
“All I could think at the time was back when Kimi (Räikkönen) did a leg,” he added, referring to when the Finnish driver pulled out of his pit box prematurely during the 2018 Bahrain GP and hit one of the mechanics, fracturing his leg.
The stewards said Hamilton was not at fault and that the incident had put him in a sporting disadvantage because he had stopped until the mechanic was clear.
Ferrari, according to the stewards’ report, said the mistake was the result of an “inappropriately late instruction for the wing adjustment, a lack of clear communication and the mechanic’s failure to notice the green light.”
As for the Russell incident, the Mercedes driver attempted to overtake Hamilton as the gaggle of cars approached Turn 5.
According to the stewards, Russell “established sufficient overlap to be entitled to racing room.”
But as the pair navigated through the corner, Hamilton experienced understeer.
Per the stewards, he did try to avoid Russell with corrective steering, yet the two still made contact.
The stewards felt the collision was caused by Hamilton while Russell “remained within the available racing room.”
The stewards did acknowledge there were mitigating circumstances, including “a loss of front-end grip rather than from an aggressive or deliberate manoeuvre” and that it was an opening-lap incident, though they still felt Hamilton was at fault.
