F1 pundit blasts FIA for reviewing Lewis Hamilton’s active track crossing penalty from the Qatar GP, claims Max Verstappen has previously done it as well

The stewards fined Lewis Hamilton 50,000 euros for the infraction.

F1 pundit blasts FIA for reviewing Lewis Hamilton’s active track crossing penalty from the Qatar GP, claims Max Verstappen has previously done it as well

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (Via IMAGO)

It has been some time since the 2023 Qatar GP, but despite this fact, the flames around Lewis Hamilton‘s active track crossing are still very much alive. On lap 1 of the race, Hamilton locked horns with George Russell going into Turn 1 and found himself in the gravel. After the incident, he exited his car and crossed the track while the race was still active.

For this, he has come under immense criticism, and the stewards at the Qatar GP fined the latter a whopping 50,000 euros. Now, one week after the event, the FIA has announced that they would conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. They seek to set a precedent with a potentially harsher penalty, as Hamilton is considered a role model in the garage. Sky F1 pundit and Analyst Karun Chandok feels the seven-time world champion is getting treated very harshly.

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Karun Chandok shared his thoughts via a post on X: “Not saying this should be condoned but I’m sure Lewis isn’t the first person to do this… Didn’t Sargeant cross the track just at the previous event in Japan? Bit odd to talk about precedent when other people have done it before.” He later posted, “Max at Monza 2021 is another example I think..”

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The 39-year-old has made it clear that he is not happy with FIA deciding to conduct an investigation into Lewis Hamilton’s actions at the Lusail International Circuit. he genuinely believes that what Hamilton did had happened on multiple occasions in the history of F1 and the FIA hasn’t done anything about it. To add more weight to his comments, he has mentioned Max Verstappen‘s incident at the 2021 event in Monza.

Discover: Ex-F1 world champion claims Max Verstappen has no ‘weak aspects’

Lewis Hamilton missed out on an opportunity to close the points gap to Sergio Perez

While Lewis Hamilton has been under the pump by the FIA for his Qatar GP actions, more importantly, he missed a golden opportunity at the physically demanding event. Sergio Perez was horrendous during the three-day Lusail event and could only score one point. Had the former finished the race, he would have easily scored solid points and been able to close the gap to second place in the Driver’s Championship.

Lewis Hamilton (Credits: RaceFans.Net)
Lewis Hamilton (Credits: RaceFans.Net)

As things stand, the former world champion has so far managed 194 points in comparison to out-of-form Sergio Perez, who has limped his way to only 224 in the mighty RB19. However, despite this, Hamilton’s pursuit is very much alive as there are five Grand Prix events remaining on the 2023 Formula 1 calendar in which he will have his chance to secure P2.

The all-important United States Grand Prix is just around the corner, and it is going to provide Lewis Hamilton with probably one of the best opportunities to score big points. Several people expect Perez to have a dismal outing at Austin, and Hamilton can use the event as a launching pad to have a serious go at the second-place battle.

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