Ex-Minardi Boss condemns Lewis Hamilton for pitlane incident with Fernando Alonso, calls it ‘worthy of 5-second penalty’

During the Canadian GP at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso made pit stops at the same time, under the Safety Car. However, Aston Martin’s pit crew executed their tire change slightly faster than Mercedes, allowing Alonso to exit the pit lane just as Hamilton was being released. As a result, Alonso had to swiftly maneuver to avoid a collision with Hamilton’s car. Former Minardi Boss Paul Stoddart has blamed Hamilton for the mishap.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Paul Stoddart has claimed that Lewis Hamilton should have received a five-second penalty for the near-collision with Fernando Alonso in the Canadian pit lane. Stoddart suggests that Hamilton’s actions warranted a penalty due to the potential danger posed by the incident.

He said, “I really think that incident with Hamilton in the pit lane was worthy of a five-second penalty at the least, but was also very dangerous, because it could have ruined both their races.” Following the near-miss incident between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, the race stewards conducted an investigation. However, they ultimately decided not to impose any penalties on the British driver.

Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton went on to be overtaken by Fernando Alonso, as the Briton had to settle for P3. Nonetheless, the paid shared the podium and left their incident on the track, as they joked about it with each other after the race had concluded.

Related: Toto Wolff slams Fernando Alonso’s ‘dramatic’ pit lane antics at Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton is in admiration of the pair he shared the podium with, desires a three-way title fight

The Canadian Grand Prix showcased a podium occupied by three world champions, namely Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton. In a closely contested battle against his longstanding rival Alonso, Hamilton conceded the P2 position and finished in third place, securing his second consecutive podium finish and carrying forward the positive momentum from the previous race in Spain.

Following the race, in an interview with Sky Sports, Hamilton expressed his eagerness to engage in a three-way title fight with the drivers he shared the podium with. He said, “I’m really hoping at some stage we have a more level playing field in our cars and then we’ll have much more exciting races in the future. I’m happy to be back in the mix, and I’m just hoping at some stage, we can be a bit more level so we can get back to some of the good races we had back in 2021. To have all three of us in a super-tight battle would be sick.”

The podium drivers altogether shared 11 world championships, 176 race wins and 383 podiums. A top three with careers littered with astounding achievements. Aston Martin bested Mercedes in Canada, but Hamilton’s Mercedes will have their target set on bridging the gap to the Silverstone-based outfit, before finally chasing Red Bull at the top.

In case you missed it:

• Fernando Alonso agrees with Aston Martin’s expert data, claims they can rival Red Bull’s supreme pace at upcoming races
• “P2 was gone,” Fernando Alonso admits he nearly accepted defeat to Lewis Hamilton after a slow start at the Canadian GP

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