Martin Brundle slams 'HARSH' stewards decision over Hamilton incident

Belgian Grand Prix

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Brundle slams 'HARSH' stewards decision over Hamilton incident

The British driver was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision

James Phillips

Saturday 29 July 2023 21:57 Updated: 22:36

Martin Brundle launched a scathing attack on F1’s stewards during the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race.

A dramatic race saw a delayed start, then the safety car deployed after an uncharacteristic error saw Fernando Alonso retire in the gravel.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez had run his intermediate tyres hard following the restart, pushing hard to move up the field. With his car lacking rear grip, Lewis Hamilton caught him and pounced, attempting to overtake the Red Bull as the cars cleared the Poun corner.

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The two cars collided, with Perez’s sidepod being ripped open, crippling the Mexican’s car – and he pulled into the pits to retire shortly afterward.

The stewards laid the blame for the incident firmly at Hamilton's door, awarding the seven-time World Champion a five-second penalty. The penalty was announced within seconds of the stricken Red Bull arriving back in the pits.

Sky Sports F1 commentator took a dim of view of the stewards' decision, calling it 'harsh'.

"I think that's harsh," he said. I think that was harsh has they were side by side going into that corner. Lewis just can't evaporate. He's got to try and go through the corner to try and overtake. It's not like he's arrived late on the brakes and slammed into the side of him."

‘What is racing?’

Sky Sports reviewed the footage after the race, which incensed Brundle further. He said although he understood the stewards' decision, he stood by his view that it was a racing incident.

"Lewis had claimed the corner, there was an error before by Perez, and he was on the inside. Yes the car did understeer a little bit, but what is racing? If that's not racing, and therefore not a racing incident, I don't know.

"As I say, it wasn't Lewis launching an impossible move, he was on the inside of the corner. He did take Checo out of the race, so we have to consider that at as well, and it was the Mercedes sliding left rather than the Red Bull pinching him.

"I understand what the stewards have done, but I would want to call that a racing incident. Because Lewis can't vamoosh, he can't disappear at that moment and he's claimed the corner, what's he going to do? He can't disappear."