Lewis Hamilton brands FIA stewards ‘complete joke’ in Brazil GP clash

Having clashed with the FIA stewards in Mexico, Lewis Hamilton was once again left furious over a fresh penalty issued at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

It was a nightmare race weekend for Hamilton, one which ended in early retirement as he was asked to park his Ferrari in the pit-lane, following a prior incident with Franco Colapinto. Given a five-second penalty for that collision to put the cherry on top of a rather bitter cake, Hamilton called the FIA stewards a “complete joke” over the verdict.

Lewis Hamilton clashes with FIA stewards again in Brazil

From 13th on the grid, Hamilton’s race was effectively over as soon as it began. He dropped to P17 in a far from ideal start, a whack from Williams’ Carlos Sainz doing little to help.

And as Hamilton took a look at Colapinto’s Alpine up the main straight, he made contact and dislodged the front wing from his Ferrari. That caused major damage to the floor, which later proved enough to force him into retirement from the race.

But, before he could call it a day, Hamilton was required to serve a five-second penalty, issued for causing that collision with Colapinto, a driver who Hamilton said has been doing an “amazing” job ahead of the race weekend.

“These guys are a joke. A complete joke.” Hamilton fumed over team radio when informed of his penalty.

He added that Colapinto had “moved over on me”, and so “I clipped my wing”. The stewards did not agree.

More Brazilian GP talking points via PlanetF1.com

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It makes it back-to-back race weekends where Hamilton has hit out at Formula 1’s governing body. In Mexico, he said he felt “let down” by the FIA after receiving a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage versus Max Verstappen.

Reflecting on his disappointing DNF, Hamilton told the F1 website: “After the [Colapinto] hit, it felt like the rear suspension was broken, but they said that it seemed to be alright.

“And then the loss of downforce. I think we were losing 30 or 40 points of downforce. When you were going through the high speed, the thing was snapping. I was giving it everything to try to keep up with the guys that are ahead of me, and I had no chance.”

He added: “This is definitely a weekend to forget.

“It’s a shame, because I love Brazil, and also just everyone in the team, every single person in this team, they turn up every week and give it their absolute best. To come away with nothing, to not finish a race, second time of the year, it’s really devastating.

“I feel terrible for the team. I’m sorry for my part, in qualifying, putting myself in that position. We’ll get back up tomorrow and just give it another go.”

Read next – Brazilian GP: Norris survives Verstappen masterclass as Piastri handed penalty