Lewis Hamilton punishment demand made by F1 rival after Dutch Grand Prix qualifying incident
Lewis Hamilton could face a grid penalty
SKYSPORTS
Sergio Perez fully expects Lewis Hamilton to be punished by the stewards for impeding him while on a hot lap in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.
The F1 season is back underway in Zandvoort this weekend with Hamilton heading into the summer break in excellent form.
The seven-time world champion was hopeful of picking up where he left off in the Netherlands, but he was surprisingly knocked out of qualifying in Q2.
But it was an incident in the first session of the afternoon that caught the attention of the stewards involving Hamilton and Perez.
Lewis Hamilton could face a grid penalty
SKYSPORTS
The Red Bull driver called Hamilton an 'idiot' on team radio after the 39-year-old appeared to ruin his hot lap.
It was confirmed soon after the incident that Hamilton was going to be investigated by the stewards and was summoned after the session.
Perez feels the situation was 'unfortunate', but ultimately believes Hamilton has to be punished.
”He has tried his best [to get out of the way] but unfortunately, we just ended up in the wrong [place] at the wrong time," Perez said.
"The stewards have been really strict this year, and I've got penalties for a lot worse than that, so I do expect him to get a penalty, unfortunately.
"I think he did the best he could [to get out of the way], and there probably should be a little more [margin given] in that regard, but it is what it is.”
Hamilton ended up 12th fastest in qualifying while Perez faired better as he put his car fifth on the grid.
The Mexican felt his near-miss with Hamilton in Q1 ultimately cost him a chance of fighting for pole as he had to use up a second set of fresh soft tyres.
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Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in Q2
REUTERS
“I should have also been putting a lap on my first attempt in Q2,” Perez said.
“It was just unfortunate because I think our qualifying could have looked a bit different with two sets.”
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Sergio Perez wants to see Lewis Hamilton punished
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He added: “I think there is always a bit in track evolution, two sets of tyres. There is probably a few tenths in it. Hard to know obviously.
“Obviously just having one run you don’t want to mess it up.
"The lap wasn’t that clean, whereas when you have two sets you can attack a lot more the first one [lap].”