FIA explain why Lewis Hamilton avoided punishment for scary pit-lane incident

For the second race in a row, Lewis Hamilton has retained his finishing position after being cleared by the FIA following a post-race investigation into a collision with a member of his pit crew at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The no penalty verdict means the seven-time F1 world champion finished fourth in the Spa circuit, behind Max Verstappen, his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

But Hamilton was involved in two moments of controversy overall in what was a very tough race for the Ferrari driver.

Hamilton collided with fellow Brit George Russell on the very opening lap and the FIA opened an investigation, which consequently led to a 30,000 Euros fine for Ferrari - 10,000 Euros suspended for one year.

Hamilton protested his innocence on his team radio, stating:“Car crossed over in front of me. I was right behind another car, so I had no front end.”

READ MORE: FIA explain Lewis Hamilton punishment after dramatic George Russell collision at Belgian Grand Prix

Russell, who crashed out of the race and lost out on vital championship points, said he was "totally swallowed up down the straight" and admitted he was "very, very disappointed".

Despite that, Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty that he served in the pits after the FIA felt it was the appropriate sanction.

But things got worse for Hamilton, who was the subject of a separate FIA investigation.

Hamilton was placed under investigation for an unsafe release when he came into the pit lane under virtual safety car conditions.

But while leaving his box, Hamilton hit a mechanic who was working on his car with his front tyre.

He had not fully vacated the area when Hamilton got the green light.

The 41-year-old expressed immediate concern for the crew member, telling engineer Carlo Santi on team radio, "****, is he okay? It went green!".

Santi told Hamilton, "He's OK, we're all OK" but a post-race investigation proceeded nonetheless.

Hamilton, who has moved up to second in the drivers' standings, breathed a sigh of relief.

Speaking on Sky Sports, F1 analyst Bernie Collins suggested that there was miscommunication between the pit and garage - ultimately causing the accident and subsequent investigation.

“That mechanic, the blue tube he has, that’s for the front-wing adjust," Collins said.

"When I look at the onboard, it’s like that mechanic was told very late about the front-wing adjust.

“He goes to step in much later in the pit stop than he normally would, tries to get the wing adjusted, doesn’t get it done and then just about moves out of the way of the car.”

Why didn't the FIA punish Lewis Hamilton?

The stewards' official verdict read:

'As Car 44 was being released from its pit stop, a mechanic stepped in the path of the front right tyre as the F1 Car moved forward. He fell but was not injured.

'The team explained the incident occurred in the context of a complex and unusual combination of circumstances. HAM had been issued a 5 second time penalty for a driving infringement which had to be served before work could commence on the F1 Car.

'LEC was in his pit box at the point HAM entered the pit lane. HAM told his engineer that he wanted a front wing adjustment but that was not conveyed to the super controller. HAM came into his pit box, served the time penalty and at the end of the 5 seconds one member of the team announced “Go” and then “0.6 degrees”, the former being an instruction to commence the pit stop and the latter being an instruction for a wing adjustment. The tyre change was completed, the jack-man dropped the F1 Car and the super controller activated the green light signal for Car 44 to move off.

'Just as the driver moved off, another mechanic with a front wing tool moved forward into the path of the front right tyre. Before he stepped forward he had his head down looking at the tool and did not see the green light.

'The team acknowledged that for Car 44 to have been released in these circumstances was unsafe and attributed the error to an inappropriately late instruction for the wing adjustment, a lack of clear communication and the mechanic’s failure to notice the green light. The team committed to undertaking a review of their pit stop procedures to ensure an incident such as this will not be repeated.

'The Stewards determined that the driver was in no respect at fault. Indeed, the driver The Stewards realised what had occurred as soon as he commenced to move off and immediately stopped until the mechanic was clear. Far from resulting in a sporting advantage, the incident brought about a sporting disadvantage for Car 44 which was delayed in its pit stop. In the circumstances, the incident did not justify a sporting penalty but did justify a significant fine on the Competitor given that procedural failures of this nature prejudice the safety of mechanics.

'The Stewards took into account the unusual combination of circumstances which contributed to the confusion within the team – circumstances which would not be in the usual contemplation of the team. For this reason, the Stewards determined to suspend part of the fine but on condition that the team conduct a review of their procedures and submit a report to the FIA outlining remedial steps to be taken.'

What did Lewis Hamilton say about the pit-lane incident?

Hamilton, who had flashbacks to another scary incident involving a Ferrari driver and a member of the pit crew, explained how the incident happened and suggested it was the team that was at fault rather than him.

“The green light went and so I went," Hamilton told Sky F1 after the race.

"You’re looking over here [to the left at the lights] you’re not looking over there so that’s more probably on the team, ultimately.

“But when it happened, then I noticed him and I stopped and it just went through my mind in that moment was back when Kimi [Raikkonen in 2018] hit and broke a leg [of a Ferrari mechanic] and my heart really sank for a second.

F1 Drivers' Championship standings

1. Kimi Antonelli - 204 - (Mercedes)

2. Lewis Hamilton - 159 - (Ferrari)

3. George Russell - 154 - (Mercedes)

4. Charles Leclerc - 126 - (Ferrari)

5. Lando Norris - 103 - (McLaren)

6. Oscar Piastri - 92 - (McLaren)

7. Max Verstappen - 88 - (Red Bull)

8. Isack Hadjar - 60 - (Red Bull)

9. Pierre Gasly - 42 - (Alpine)

10. Liam Lawson - 39 - (Racing Bulls)

11. Arvid Lindblad - 22 - (Racing Bulls)

12. Franco Colapinto - 19 - (Alpine)

13. Oliver Bearman - 18 - (Haas)

14. Gabriel Bortoleto - 10 - (Audi)

15. Carlos Sainz - 6 - (Williams)

16. Alexander Albon - 5 - (Williams)

17. Esteban Ocon - 3 - (Haas)

18. Fernando Alonso - 1 - (Aston Martin)

19. Nico Hulkenberg - 0 - (Audi)

20. Valtteri Bottas - 0 - (Cadillac)

21. Sergio Perez - 0 - (Cadillac)

22. Lance Stroll - 0 - (Aston Martin)