2026 Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps, July 17 - 19

[Badger]

It was harsh but Hamilton wasn’t fully in control. There was a correction on the steering as he lost the rear. That led to him running slightly wide and into Russell. The stewards always sanction contact after a loss of control more harshly. I do think if Russell had been able to continue it wouldn’t have been a penalty.

Russell left plenty of space on the inside and was ahead from the apex, but he still ended up in the gravel and out of the race. Short of a force majeure situation that means the guy on the inside holds the bulk of the responsibility, and thus deserves to be penalised. Opening the door to a scenario where this doesn't lead to a penalty could invite some really poor driving standards and potential manipulations.

[Mogster]

It was harsh but Hamilton wasn’t fully in control. There was a correction on the steering as he lost the rear. That led to him running slightly wide and into Russell. The stewards always sanction contact after a loss of control more harshly. I do think if Russell had been able to continue it wouldn’t have been a penalty.

Russell left plenty of space on the inside and was ahead from the apex, but he still ended up in the gravel and out of the race. Short of a force majeure situation that means the guy on the inside holds the bulk of the responsibility, and thus deserves to be penalised. Opening the door to a scenario where this doesn't lead to a penalty could invite some really poor driving standards and potential manipulations.

It was clearly not a deliberate act, just slightly clumsy. It was the first lap, cold brakes, tyres after a long run to Kemmel. As he said himself, Russell seemed to lack straight line speed so ended up in a bad place trapped on the outside at Les Combes with cars queuing to pass.

I can understand why the stewards felt the need to penalise, however I don’t like penalties being handed out for minor infractions. I also find handing out penalties based on the consequence dubious at best, if Russell had continued, 100% this wouldn’t have been penalised.

[Badger]

It was harsh but Hamilton wasn’t fully in control. There was a correction on the steering as he lost the rear. That led to him running slightly wide and into Russell. The stewards always sanction contact after a loss of control more harshly. I do think if Russell had been able to continue it wouldn’t have been a penalty.

Russell left plenty of space on the inside and was ahead from the apex, but he still ended up in the gravel and out of the race. Short of a force majeure situation that means the guy on the inside holds the bulk of the responsibility, and thus deserves to be penalised. Opening the door to a scenario where this doesn't lead to a penalty could invite some really poor driving standards and potential manipulations.

It was clearly not a deliberate act, just slightly clumsy. It was the first lap, cold brakes, tyres after a long run to Kemmel. As he said himself, Russell seemed to lack straight line speed so ended up in a bad place trapped on the outside at Les Combes with cars queuing to pass.

I can understand why the stewards felt the need to penalise, however I don’t like penalties being handed out for minor infractions. I also find handing out penalties based on the consequence dubious at best, if Russell had continued, 100% this wouldn’t have been penalised.

I agree it was not deliberate, but intent can rarely be proven or disproven definitively, so the penalty system should incentivise good driving standards regardless of intent. We don't want to end up in a scenario where drivers are potentially rewarded for taking someone out whilst making it look unintentional.

[DDopey]

+5s penalty for Hamilton (instead of hte usual +10) was correct, IMHO. Russel left more than enough room and the only reason they touched is because Hamilton refused to give up and didn't brake earlier, even if he didn't have "direct intention" , he played the chicken game.

On the other hand, LeClerc's was a slam dunk +10s. Lucky escape and lucky VSC pitstop, should have been battling Verstappen for P2, instead was comfortably home. Needs the luck, his season has just 'woken up'.

This, I found it also quite a remarkable comment by Toto. Admitting they have the best engine is not something he normally does.

[Chuckjr]

So it seems the Federation of Ignorance and Abomination are manipulating races with virtual safety cars now--a new way to leverage synthetic competition since the whole power unit ADUO psyop isn't working out so well...A pebble out of place on track now can spawn a virtual safety car for however much time is needed to advantage the race and leverage interest. Clown show.

[Sieper]

So it seems the Federation of Ignorance and Abomination are manipulating races with virtual safety cars now--a new way to leverage synthetic competition since the whole power unit ADUO psyop isn't working out so well...A pebble out of place on track now can spawn a virtual safety car for however much time is needed to advantage the race and leverage interest. Clown show.

This. Why, twice. Twice to get a piece of carbon, and the timing…… and that second time, the steward was long gone. But no VSC ending. Just to make it more tight at the front. Disgusting.

[Matt2725]

Russell didn't stand a chance. Shame for Lewis.

[AR3-GP]

Russell didn't stand a chance. Shame for Lewis.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNnRtwQaAAA ... name=large

When a driver fails to complete the lap, the telemetry visualizers like gp-tempo just stretch the data erroneously and show you nonsense. I'm not saying Russell didn't have an issue, but this plot won't be able to show it the way you would like.

[Poleman]

Regarding the Hamilton-Russel incident and the subsequent penalty (regardless of the outcome of the contact but as many said already this seems to be the way they judge),i find it odd that the FIA stewards didnt even look at other collisions - incidents down the pack at that first lap.If my memory serves me well i think the HAAS cars came together and one of them had punctures and even went off track but there was no investigation whatsoever.Is their primary objective monitoring what happens at the top teams or top ten i wonder.

[AR3-GP]

Regarding the Hamilton-Russel incident and the subsequent penalty (regardless of the outcome of the contact but as many said already this seems to be the way they judge),i find it odd that the FIA stewards didnt even look at other collisions - incidents down the pack at that first lap.If my memory serves me well i think the HAAS cars came together and one of them had punctures and even went off track but there was no investigation whatsoever.Is their primary objective monitoring what happens at the top teams or top ten i wonder.

Collisions between teammates are never investigated.

[Waz]

+5s penalty for Hamilton (instead of hte usual +10) was correct, IMHO. Russel left more than enough room and the only reason they touched is because Hamilton refused to give up and didn't brake earlier, even if he didn't have "direct intention" , he played the chicken game.

On the other hand, LeClerc's was a slam dunk +10s. Lucky escape and lucky VSC pitstop, should have been battling Verstappen for P2, instead was comfortably home. Needs the luck, his season has just 'woken up'.

How on earth is Leclerc is a slam dunk, but Hamilton is hard done by? Charles doesn't deviate his line long before the braking zone.

Oscar should have done exactly what Hamilton should have done - brake earlier. He was not entitled to any space.

[venkyhere]

+5s penalty for Hamilton (instead of hte usual +10) was correct, IMHO. Russel left more than enough room and the only reason they touched is because Hamilton refused to give up and didn't brake earlier, even if he didn't have "direct intention" , he played the chicken game.

On the other hand, LeClerc's was a slam dunk +10s. Lucky escape and lucky VSC pitstop, should have been battling Verstappen for P2, instead was comfortably home. Needs the luck, his season has just 'woken up'.

How on earth is Leclerc is a slam dunk, but Hamilton is hard done by? Charles doesn't deviate his line long before the braking zone.

Oscar should have done exactly what Hamilton should have done - brake earlier. He was not entitled to any space.

The rules for corners don't apply for straights. Running someone off the road in a straight is slam dunk penalty. Stewarding is s**t anyway, because they don't keep paid people there, which in turn is because Liberty/FIA want plastic/malleable people in these positions who will puppet-dance to instructions from a 'live phone call from the big boss'. Liberty wants a Ferrari-Mercedes title fight.

[Mogster]

Agree about first lap altercations P10-P22 often being ignored.

Leclerc’s move was properly dangerous, you could easily cause an aeroplane crash that way. With the packed close spectator areas all alongside Kemmel the possibilities are too grim to think about. Overly aggressive defending on the straights really should be penalised, it’s dangerous and anti racing so poor for the show. It was interesting that Bono highlighted Leclercs behavior to Antonelli.

Poor performance by the stewards all round.

[Quantum]

[SiLo]

Leclerc should have had a penalty, but the stewards used the wrong rule to write it off. They should have used the one about returning to the racing line after making a defensive move and leaving enough space on the outside. He failed to do that and drove into Piastri. It's a really easy penalty to give and I'm astounded they didnt.

How Lewis got one I will never know. Russell was miles away when Lewis started braking, he made the corner and there was loads of space to the left of Russell. He just needlessly squeezed across into Hamilton. Hamilton was committed to that corner well before Russell appeared. It was textbook racing incident for me. The stewards definitely looked at the outcome instead of what actually happened. Even in their justification document, an entire paragraph is used to explain their decision and all it sounds like is they are saying its a racing incident. Baffling.