Lewis Hamilton was judged to have violated Article 2.5.5(b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code and Article 26.1(b) of the F1 Sporting Regulations after failing to slow for double yellow flags during sprint qualifying at Interlagos. The stewards concluded he did not sufficiently reduce speed when Charles Leclerc spun at the end of SQ2.
Despite this, Hamilton avoided the standard 10-place grid penalty. The stewards instead issued a reprimand, the first on his record this season.
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What triggered the investigation
The incident began when Leclerc locked a tyre at the exit of Turn 10 and came to a halt on the right side of the track. Double yellow lights were activated immediately. Hamilton entered the zone moments later.
During the hearing, Hamilton stated he had not seen the double yellow light panel on the left, explaining that his focus was on the turn-in point on the right. The FIA accepted that the time between the panel illuminating and Hamilton passing it was extremely short.
However, the stewards highlighted that Hamilton had seen Leclerc’s stationary car and had also observed the subsequent green light panel ahead. Their ruling stated:
“Hamilton must have been aware that he was at least within the yellow flag zone and therefore had a clear obligation to reduce speed.”
This acknowledgement of situational awareness was enough to classify it as a breach, but not severe enough to merit a grid penalty.
Why no grid drop was applied
The FIA cited consistency with historical cases when determining the penalty. Previous rulings in similarly marginal situations have resulted in reprimands rather than grid penalties. Stewards Pedro Lamy and his colleagues agreed that Hamilton’s circumstances matched those precedents.
As a result, Hamilton keeps 11th place for the sprint instead of being relegated to last.
Context: Norris takes pole, Antonelli and Piastri follow
Sprint qualifying itself was tightly fought. Lando Norris secured pole by 0.097 seconds over Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with Oscar Piastri third. Max Verstappen will start sixth.
The sprint begins at 11:00 PM on Saturday, November 8 (Japan time), followed by full qualifying later that night. DAZN and Fuji TV NEXT will broadcast both sessions live.
