Lewis Hamilton committed 'super dangerous' act in F1 practice as Mercedes fined for 'serious failure'

Lewis Hamilton committed 'super dangerous' act in F1 practice as Mercedes fined for 'serious failure'

WATCH NOW: Lewis Hamilton walks his dog as he enters his final season with Mercedes

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 07/03/2024

- 20:20

The Brit was involved in a controversial moment involving Logan Sargeant in Thursday's FP2

Mercedes have been fined after a near miss involving Lewis Hamilton in practice ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion was accused of a 'super dangerous' move in FP2, where American Logan Sargeant had to take evasive action to avoid him.


Williams star Sargeant came close to hitting Hamilton from behind and had to slow down, with Mercedes since blamed for a 'serious failure' in not informing their driver that he was there.

The Silver Arrows will have to pay nearly £13,000 after the FIA confirmed they were in the wrong, while Hamilton has been warned.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has been warned and Mercedes fined after an incident at FP2

F1/Getty

Hamilton was summoned to the stewards after finishing eighth in FP2, six places behind team-mate George Russell and 0.677 seconds off pace-setter Fernando Alonso.

A statement from the FIA read: "The stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), the driver of Car 2 (Logan Sargeant), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determine that Car 44 impeded Car 2 at Turn 11.

"As a result, Car 2 (Sargeant) had to take evasive action by going off the track to avoid a collision.

"Had that not been done, there would have been a serious, high speed crash.

"Having listened to the team radio, it was clear to us that the team of Car 44 failed to warn their driver of the fact that Car 2 was arriving on a fast lap.

"That was a serious failure on the part of the team, particularly given the speeds on this circuit and the nature of turn 11, which is at the end of a series of high speed corners where driver visibility is impaired.

"We therefore issue a warning to the driver and impose a fine of €15,000 (£12,800) to the team."

Sargeant made it clear at the time of the incident that he was not happy with Hamilton.

He was heard on his car radio saying: "Mate, come on! It's too dangerous."

While Hamilton said: "I didn't realise someone was on a lap.

"I was trying to get out of the way for [Carlos] Sainz and all of a sudden there was a Williams there."

Sainz, who Hamilton will replace at Ferrari next season, hit out at the 39-year-old on his radio.

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Lewis Hamilton and Logan Sargeant

Logan Sargeant had to slow down in order to avoid Lewis Hamilton in FP2

F1

He said: "What Hamilton did there was super dangerous. Like he was in the middle, I couldn't get out of the way.

"Sargeant nearly crashed because of him."

Hamilton is in his final season at Mercedes after it was announced last month he will cut his contract short with the team.

After 12 seasons with the Brackley-based side, he will move to Ferrari to become team-mates with Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is aiming to end on a high at Mercedes this year

Getty

Hamilton is determined to finish on a high at the team where he has won six of his seven world titles.

However, he finished down in seventh in the first race of the season in Bahrain last week.

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