Hamilton escapes penalty for possible red flag incident in final Singapore practice
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was under investigation for alleged speeding under a red flag in the third and final practice session at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, but the
Racing Bull driver Liam Lawson brought up the rear in 20th in final practice after suffering a crash at Turn 8. The Kiwi exited the 90-degree corner quite aggressively, put his car over the kerbs, which saw him lose control of his Racing Bulls car. As a result of it, he crashed into the walls which brought out the red flags.
Onboard images showed that Lewis Hamilton reduced his speed while he passed Lawson's stationary car ahead of Turn 8. However, the Ferrari driver picked up the pace after the following corner as he made his way back to the pitlane.
Per Article 37.6 of F1's sporting regulations "all cars must immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to the pitlane" in the case of a red flag.
The seven-time world champion was under investigation for alleged speeding under a red flag, but the stewards have now elected to take no further action after having heared from Hamilton and reviewed positioning/video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video
evidence.
The stewards' statement read: "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), team representative and reviewed positioning/video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
"During the red flag period following the incident involving Car 30 (LAW), HAM appeared to be travelling at a notably high speed. However, analysis of the telemetry data showed that between the display of the red flag and the entry to the pit lane, HAM remained above the required minimum time as stipulated by Article 37.6a of the 2025 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
"Regarding the pit lane entry, the car’s speed was marginally higher than that of other cars in comparable situations, but the driver maintained full car control at all times and did not drive in a manner that could be considered unsafe.
"While the Stewards consider that a greater reduction of speed would have been desirable under the circumstances, it is concluded that there is no evidence of a breach of the applicable regulations."
