‘Why Such a Harsh Penalty?’ – What Lewis Hamilton Asked F1 Stewards After Monza Penalty

Lewis Hamilton was leading the race in Monza when a lack of judgment from the team and the driver changed the course of the race. Kevin Magnussen’s Haas gave up on the track and triggered a safety car. Mercedes called the Briton to the pit lane to take advantage of the yellow flag.

However, the team failed to notice that the pit entry was closed at the moment. The stewards penalized the Briton for it and handed him a stop-and-go penalty. Hamilton was obviously furious at the decision and confronted the stewards during the red flag caused by Leclerc’s crash.

Speaking to stewards over a web conference last weekend, Garry Connelly explained his conversation with the world champion. “Lewis hopped on his scooter during the stoppage of the race, scooted down the pitlane, and came up and paid us a visit,” he recalled.

“Lewis was extremely polite. And he just said, ‘Guys, can you tell me why I’ve been penalised?’ And we said, ‘Yes, because you entered the pitlane when it was closed.'”

“Can you show me?” asked Hamilton. “And we showed him the video replay. We showed him from his onboard camera. And there right in front of him was the warning light for the first panel, and then again, the second panel,” Connelly shared.

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Lewis Hamilton had a few comments for his team

After the stewards showed the video to Hamilton, he accepted his mistake. However, he still wanted an explanation as to why he was handed down such a harsh penalty. Connelly explained that it was a mandatory penalty and the stewards don’t have a choice on its imposition.

“And he said, ‘Oh, okay. I accept that,’ he said, ‘but why such a harsh penalty?’

“And we explained to him, ‘Unfortunately Lewis, it’s a mandatory penalty. And we don’t have any choice but to impose this penalty on you.'”

He continued, “And whilst he was not absolutely delighted with this, Lewis accepted it, and was extremely polite, as I’ve always found him, and left the room and went back.”

Connelly further pointed out Hamilton’s exchange with Mercedes and praised the Briton for handling it so well.

“Now, no doubt, he had a few comments to his team about why they didn’t warn him on the radio. But I think that’s a perfect example, that no matter how painful the decision, it was accepted by Lewis, and it was accepted by his team,” he explained.

The Monza race result went down the history as one of the most unpredictable ones. Pierre Gasly won his first career race while Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll completed the top three finishers – a race without the top names standing on the podium.

As we stand closer to the 2021 season, All I want from this season are such unpredictable races and Gasly-like stories of redemption!