Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has escaped with a reprimand for rejoining the track incorrectly after running wide in the opening Mexican Grand Prix practice session.
Hamilton went straight on at Turn 1 in the opening stages of FP1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit and rejoined at Turn 3.
But the seven-time champion failed to rejoin on the left of the Turn 3 bollard, contradicting the instructions from the FIA race director Michael Masi in the event notes.
Hamilton explained to his Mercedes team that he “couldn’t slow down there” at the time of the incident, due to the nature of the dusty track that has scarcely been used since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hamilton avoided serious punishment, instead earning his first reprimand of the 2021 season.
“Car 44 left the track on the left hand-side between Turns 1 and 2 and rejoined the track between Turns 2 and 3, rather than rejoining by driving to the left-hand side of the bollard at Turn 3,” the stewards’ statement read.
“Whilst noting the driver’s comments in relation to track conditions and his attempt to steer to the left after leaving the track, the stewards consider this to be a failure to follow the race director’s instruction given in article 21.1a) of the race director’s event notes.”
It’s not the first Turn 1 controversy in Mexico for Hamilton after he received criticism from his fellow drivers for cutting across the grass on route to winning the 2016 Mexican GP but escaped unpunished.
The Mercedes driver is looking to overturn a 12-point deficit to championship leader Max Verstappen, with the pair separated by less than a tenth in an opening practice session topped by Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen also received his first reprimand of the 2021 season for a similar incident.
