Do you recall the incident between Max Verstappen and George Russell at the 2023 Azerbaijan Sprint? Russell dived on the inside of Verstappen, made a huge hole in his side pod, and yet got away without a penalty. Now, After Lewis Hamilton was dragged through the mud by many over the same incident, a hostile response has been sparked in FIA’s direction for their overreaction. But what exactly is this hostile response?

Lewis Hamilton gave Red Bull a Deja Vu from Azerbaijan GP at the 2023 Belgium GP sprint after he crashed into Sergio Perez’s RB19. As a result of the accident, a huge hole was punched in Sergio Perez’s car causing the Mexican driver to retire. Hamilton got a 5-second penalty along with multiple people advising that the Briton doesn’t know how to race wheel to wheel and many other things.

However, Former F1 driver and now an F1 Analyst, Jolyon Palmer suggests that FIA overreacted when it came to the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Checo. He advised how Hamilton hit the kerb in tricky wet conditions and understeered into Checo’s car and causing minor contact between the two. He added that it was just bad luck for both drivers and that FIA overreacted to the incident

According to F1Maximaal, Jolyon Palmer said in his analysis on F1TV, “It really is a small moment and it was not worth a punishment in my opinion. We have already had so many heavier contacts this season, where there was no damage and then there was no investigation. It is mainly bad luck for Checo and ultimately also for Lewis (Hamilton, ed.), who was punished for causing a breakdown. That seems like an exaggerated reaction to me. On the contrary, these kinds of actions should be encouraged.” [translated via Google]

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Palmer has urged FIA to let go of these little things and not exaggerate them. Closer racing should be encouraged by the FIA. Even Lewis Hamilton believed that it was a racing incident.

Lewis Hamilton opens up about the crash with Sergio Perez

Lewis Hamilton’s comments resonate with what Jolyon Palmer said about the incident. The conditions were tricky to drive but Hamilton had the right to go for the move. The Briton suggests that it was just a racing incident and nothing else. The five-second penalty does feel a little harsh.

According to Formula1.com, Lewis Hamilton said “I mean, I feel like it was a racing incident, but… It does feel like it was a racing incident and in the trickiest of conditions. I was more than halfway alongside him, but yeah, a bit unfortunate.”

What do you think? Was it Lewis Hamilton’s fault?

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