Hamilton given penalty point for race-ruining collision with Colapinto

Lewis Hamilton received penalty points for the second time this year after colliding with Franco Colapinto during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver ran into the Alpine while trying to pass his rival at the end of lap one. It broke the Ferrari’s front wing, which folded under his floor, causing more damage.

The stewards deemed Hamilton responsible for the collision but said mitigating factors meant his penalty should be reduced.

“On lap two, car 44 [Hamilton] closed up behind car 43 [Colapinto] in turn 15,” they explained. “During the approach, there was contact between the right front tyre of car 44 and the left rear tyre of car 43. While car 43 was able to continue without consequences, the front wing of car 44 sustained damage. The stewards determined that car 44 was wholly responsible for the incident.

“Although the contact was minor, the incident is classified as a collision since it resulted in mechanical damage to one of the cars.

“However, there are mitigating factors that justify a reduction of the standard 10-second time penalty to five seconds. The collision occurred at a low speed differential, did not have a[n] immediate and obvious sporting consequence for the other car, and can be regarded as a relatively light contact.”

His penalty point puts him on a total of three.

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Hamilton, who eventually retired on lap 38, said his car was extremely difficult to drive due to the loss of downforce.

“After the hit it felt like the rear suspension was broken,” he told the official Formula 1 channel. “But they said that it seemed to be alright. [It] could be cross weight or something like that.

“The loss of downforce, I think we were losing 30 or 40 points of downforce, so when you were going through the high-speed the thing was snapping. I was giving everything to try and keep up with even the guys that were right ahead of me, and I had no chance.”

Ferrari scored no points in the grand prix as Charles Leclerc also retired. “This is definitely a weekend to forget,” said Hamilton. “It’s a shame because I love Brazil and also everyone in the team, every single person in the team, they turn up every week and give it their absolute best and to come away with nothing, to not finish a race, second time in the year, it’s really devastating.

“I feel terrible for the team. I’m sorry for my part in qualifying, I put myself in that position. We’ll get back up tomorrow and just give it another go.”

Penalty box

Did the stewards issue the correct penalty? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Hamilton’s penalty for colliding with Colapinto was:

• No opinion (4%)
• Far too lenient (1%)
• Slightly too lenient (7%)
• Correct (34%)
• Slightly too harsh (22%)
• Far too harsh (32%)

Total Voters: 74

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