Lewis Hamilton handed major F1 penalty as Fred Vasseur speaks out
Lewis Hamilton has been handed a major Formula 1 penalty as team principal Fred Vasseur speaks out.
Hamilton's struggles at Ferrari continued with a difficult Dutch GP, which he crashed out of on lap 23, amid light rain at Zandvoort. The weekend continued to worsen for Ferrari, when Mercedes' Kimi Antontelli crashed into Charles Leclerc, making it a double DNF for the team.
And in another blow for Ferrari, Hamilton has now received a five-place grid penalty for next weekend's Italian Grand Prix. The Englishman failed to slow down sufficiently for yellow flags on his way to the grid, meaning he will start no higher than sixth at Monza on Sunday.
Although Hamilton was only 12.4mph slower than his speed in practice, the race stewards judged that was not significant enough.
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And they also said that he did not enter the pit lane at a "greatly reduced speed", as he lifted and broke only 70 minutes earlier compared to practice.
What went wrong for Lewis Hamilton?
It was another difficult weekend for the seven-time world champion, who has struggled since his move to Ferrari last summer.
His only victory came in the Chinese GP sprint race back in March, but he is yet to stand on the podium of a race at Ferrari.
At Zandvoort, Hamilton, who was running in seventh place, lost control of his car at turn three and crashed into the wall.
Although there was light rain at the time, Hamilton acknowledged it was his mistake, in another new low for the F1 great.
What did Fred Vasseur say?
The Ferrari team principal, who recently signed a new multi-year contract with the team, was asked for his thoughts on Hamilton's mistake at the Dutch GP.
He said: “I think he was behind George from the beginning of the race.
"And it was when we had the first drizzle and perhaps he was a bit wider in the corner, perhaps he was a bit faster than the lap before, a bit wider and probably he touched the side of the track.
“Overall, I think Lewis did a very good job this weekend.
"He was part of the recovery of the team, which he was able to push us and come back on a decent pace after the poor Friday, and the race pace was OK.
“But, for sure, if you want to score points, you have to finish."
Ferrari are still second in the Constructors Championship, but they are just 12 points ahead of Mercedes.
Topics: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton
James Taylor