Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP
Hamilton facing F1 stewards' investigation over FP3 red flag rules breach
Lewis Hamilton will be investigated by the Formula 1 race stewards after overtaking two cars under a red flag during final practice in Abu Dhabi.
Luke Smith
Edited: Nov 19, 2022, 1:51 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Saturday afternoon session at the Yas Marina Circuit was red-flagged after 28 minutes when Pierre Gasly lost part of his front wing while running wide over the kerbs exiting Turn 9.
The remaining cars on track had to return to the pits at slow speed so the debris could be removed, but McLaren's Lando Norris flagged over the radio that Hamilton had overtaken two cars.
On the run to the Turn 5 hairpin, Hamilton - who was on a flying lap - overtook Norris on the right-hand side before then also passing Haas driver Kevin Magnussen while approaching the corner. Race engineer Pete Bonnington told Hamilton on the radio to "get yourself back behind Magnussen" after overtaking the Haas.
Hamilton then slowed his Mercedes car on exiting the hairpin, sitting just ahead of Magnussen and Norris, but the overtakes were noted by race control for failing to slow for a red flag.
The stewards then confirmed soon after that the incident would be investigated after the session, putting Hamilton at risk of a penalty.
At Monza earlier this year, AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda was hit with a three-place grid penalty and two penalty points on his FIA superlicence for failing to slow for yellow flags in practice. Back in 2015, Valtteri Bottas received the same penalty as Tsunoda for overtaking cars under a red flag.
A stewards' hearing is set to take place ahead of qualifying in Abu Dhabi, which begins at 6pm local time.
Hamilton heads into this weekend's season finale in Abu Dhabi with one final chance to end his winless year, having seen teammate George Russell break Mercedes' duck in Brazil last Sunday.
Hamilton topped FP1 on Friday at Yas Marina before dropping back to fourth in second practice, finishing the day six-tenths of a second off Max Verstappen's best effort in FP2.
"The Red Bulls look a bit quicker here, which was expected," Hamilton said on Friday evening in Abu Dhabi.
"We didn't expect this to be our strongest race. But we'll work hard overnight. We're generally right there, so hopefully we can put up a good fight."
Read Also:
- Abu Dhabi GP: Perez quickest from Verstappen in FP3
- Binotto "relaxed" about Ferrari F1 future after exit reports
- FIA dismisses pro-Mercedes F1 bias and leak allegations
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Rossi: "Killer instinct" of Alpine drivers went "a bit too far" in Brazil clashes
Next article Abu Dhabi GP qualifying as it happened
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Latest news
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Did Haas make the correct decision in signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027?
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 1 h
Frederik Vesti steps up to full-time role as Cadillac Racing details 2027 IMSA lineup
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Rafael Camara to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Cadillac signs Ricky Taylor, Antonio Felix da Costa in refreshed 2027 WEC line-up
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
2 h
Cadillac signs Ricky Taylor, Antonio Felix da Costa in refreshed 2027 WEC line-up
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe