F1 News
Hamilton avoided heavier penalty at Silverstone: "Never used in 50 years"
- GPblog.com
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the incidents between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Silverstone and Monza. In particular, the level of punishment has been difficult for many people to digest, given the varied consequences of both incidents.
Hamilton was awarded a ten-second time penalty during the race, but with Verstappen switched off, he had plenty of time to make up for that. Verstappen, on the other hand, was awarded a grid penalty of three places for the next race.
Other penalty appears to exist
Many people thought that the penalty given to Hamilton was not sufficient and that there should be a penalty which ensures that a driver suffers from it. However, it now appears that such a penalty does exist, according to Dutch commentator Olav Mol during Formula 1 Café on Ziggo Sport.
He asked Garry Connelly, leader of the stewards, how the stewards view an incident like the one at Silverstone. The latter then brought up the regulations, in which he had found that the race committee does have the option of awarding penalty points after a race. Such a penalty would be more proportionate to a grid penalty for the next race and could discourage drivers from taking unnecessary risks.