The FIA have announced the punishment verdict for Ferrari F1 star Lewis Hamilton after an investigation was launched at the Austrian Grand Prix.
F1 returned to the challenging Red Bull Ring for the 11th round of the 2025 campaign, with Friday’s practice sessions kicking off the on-track action ahead of Sunday’s main event in Spielberg.
F1 RESULTS TODAY: Hamilton suffers Ferrari nightmare at Austrian Grand Prix as rival team dominates
Hamilton’s return to the track went from bad to worse on Friday, experiencing gearbox issues in FP1 and only managing to cross the line ninth-fastest, before he was then involved in an on-track incident with the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli in FP2.
The Italian youngster has succeeded Hamilton at Mercedes and has had a much better start to life at his new team than the 40-year-old has at Ferrari, with a near-miss at the Red Bull Ring just the latest in a list of low points for Hamilton this season.
During Friday’s afternoon practice, Hamilton appeared to be slightly off the ball, meandering onto the racing line whilst on a slow lap.
Antonelli had to swerve to avoid the seven-time champion as a result, taking to team radio to question the moment.”
Hamilton seemed to claim responsibility instantly, delivering an apologetic wave to Antonelli before admitting: “I couldn’t see Antonelli at all.”
The seven-time champion was swiftly summoned to the stewards following the session, alleged to have breached Article 37.5 of the FIA F1 sporting regulations.
FIA deliver full Hamilton verdict after Antonelli scare
It has since been confirmed that F1’s stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Hamilton), Car 12 (Antonelli), and their team representatives, with video and in-car video evidence reviewed.
An FIA statement announced: “The driver of Car 44, although constantly checking his mirrors after being informed by the team about Car 12 closing in, slowly moved on to the racing line on the approach to Turn 4 and thereby unnecessarily impeded Car 12 which had to take evasive action.
“The driver of Car 44 apologised directly after realising his mistake.
“The stewards determined that, despite the more lenient approach to impeding in Free Practice, the impeding was unnecessary.”
Given the above circumstances, the stewards decided no punishment would be handed to Hamilton, although a warning was deemed appropriate and issued to the former Mercedes star.
