Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin explained the unusual detail behind Lewis Hamilton’s track limits penalties during the Austrian Grand Prix. Shovlin revealed that the team couldn’t inform Hamilton of his warnings for track limits breaches in a timely manner due to the FIA messaging system’s inability to keep up with the high number of lap time deletions.
During the race, Hamilton was among the seven drivers penalized for exceeding track limits multiple times. Aston Martin’s protest of the race result resulted in post-race penalties for eight drivers, including Hamilton, for previously unnoticed track limits breaches. Hamilton received an additional 10-second penalty, causing him to drop a place in the final classification.
Shovlin shed light on Hamilton’s struggles with the car’s understeer, which contributed to the track limits issues. Understeer in high-speed corners prevented Hamilton from tightening his line when needed, causing him to run wide and breach track limits.
Following Aston Martin’s protest, the FIA reviewed over 1,200 instances of potential track limits breaches that were not addressed during the race. The investigation and final penalties were only published five hours after the race, leading to criticism of the handling of the situation.
Shovlin acknowledged that the rules themselves were clear, but Mercedes couldn’t inform Hamilton of his infractions in a timely manner due to the high number of drivers going off track, which slowed down the FIA’s messaging system during the race.
Due to the delayed messages, Hamilton had already accumulated enough penalties to serve a five-second penalty during a pit stop. Subsequently, further penalties were imposed after the review, resulting in a 10-second penalty in the final race result.
Shovlin emphasized the need to address the situation, suggesting that drivers should not feel the need to tiptoe around the track without making any mistakes. Mercedes is open to participating in conversations to find a better solution for future races and ensure a fair and enjoyable racing experience for the drivers.
