Hamilton called to stewards over unsafe release
Lewis Hamilton faces a stewards' investigation ahead of qualifying for the German Grand Prix following an unsafe release in the opening minutes of final practice.
The world champion was let out of his garage in the opening minutes of the session right into the path of Haas driver Romain Grosjean.
Grosjean had to come to a stop in the fast lane of the pits and complained over the team radio about what happened.
Hamilton has been summoned to see the stewards to explain what happened, and will be mindful that he is already on two reprimands for the season so far.
If he receives another reprimand over the course of this season he will be given a 10-place grid drop.
Although teams normally receive punishment for unsafe releases, it is not unheard of for drivers to be punished as well.
As last year's Belgian Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat was given a reprimand in second practice after being released in to the path of Felipe Nasr.
At the time the stewards said that Kvyat deserved a reprimand because "the driver did not pay sufficient attention."
F1's rules state that: "It is the responsibility of the competitor to release his car from his garage or pitstop position only when it is safe to do so. The competitor must also provide a means of clearly establishing, when being viewed from both above and in front of the car, when that car was released.”
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