Lewis Hamilton also got 2 penalty points added to his license

Lewis Hamilton also got 2 penalty points added to his license

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was awarded a five-second time penalty after he collided with Sergio Perez during the Belgian GP Sprint race on Saturday. According to The Stewards, the Briton understeered into Perez at Turn 15 in wet conditions and was responsible for causing a collision.

In the damp conditions, the seven-time world champion was fighting against the Red Bull driver for P4 on the grid, and he went for the move after he saw the opportunity in the twisty sector two of the track.

At the front, Max Verstappen took victory during the sprint after overhauling Oscar Piastri in doing so, with Alpine driver Gasly rounding out the top three ahead of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Perez and Hamilton will start second and third respectively on Sunday, meaning the two could well dice again at the start.

The Briton went wheel to wheel with the Mexican driver but could not control his W14 and touched the sidepod of the RB19. Initially, it looked like a racing incident between two drivers fighting for the same position, but the FIA gave Lewis Hamilton a 5-second penalty for causing a collision after checking Perez’s car.

The damage from the clash meant that the Red Bull driver had to retire from the Sprint race after he found himself falling down the grid like a domino. The penalty meant that Hamilton finished P8 just a tenth ahead of his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, after initially finishing behind Pierre Gasly in P4.

Perez initially reported after the collision that he had “no rear grip” and quickly fell down the standings, with the field filing past one by one as the laps went on but, with a hole in his sidepod spotted by Red Bull, the team opted to pull him in.

Hamilton had placed himself on the inside of Perez after he ran wide at Stavelot and the Mercedes driver was alongside through Curve Paul Frere, but clashed with the Red Bull driver in the process and the stewards decided to penalise the seven-time World Champion for doing so.

In giving their reasons punishing Hamilton, the stewards wrote: “Hamilton was attempting to pass Perez on the inside at Turn 15.