FIA announce late penalty verdict as F1 sprint race result confirmed

Photo: © IMAGO

British Grand Prix

FIA announce late penalty verdict as F1 sprint race result confirmed

Never a dull moment...

Chris Deeley

Saturday 4 July 2026 16:02

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Liam Lawson has retained his eighth place finish at the British Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday, and the single point which came with it, after a stewards' investigation.

The Racing Bulls star was ultimately given an official warning for a semi-friendly fire incident on the penultimate lap of the short race, cutting right across the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar as the Frenchman attempted to overtake him for that lone point.

The stewards quickly announced that the New Zealander was under investigation for an 'alleged abnormal change of direction' (moving under braking), and summoned him to see them post-race.

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Lawson explained in his hearing that he had not actually begun to brake at the time in question, and that instead 'the movement of the car was part of deceleration and preparation for the corner'. That, coupled with Hadjar himself telling the stewards that he didn't believe the incident merited a sporting penalty, kept Lawson in P8.

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Stewards' verdict in full

The stewards' explanation of their decision read: "The driver of Car 30 stated that, at the relevant time, he was still at full throttle and had not yet commenced braking, and that the movement of the car was part of deceleration and preparation for the corner rather than a movement under braking.

"The driver of Car 6 stated that the move by Car 30 was sharp, but also that sufficient room was left and that contact was avoided. In his view, the incident did not merit a penalty. He also referred to the fact that the two cars were on different energy levels, which made the closing speed difficult to judge.

"The Stewards accept that this was not a case of a significant change of direction after the braking phase had clearly commenced, and also accept that Car 30 left sufficient room for Car 6 to ensure that no contact occurred. The Stewards also accept that the different energy states of the two cars made the closing speed into the corner more difficult for the driver of Car 30 to assess.

"However, the Stewards considered that the defensive move by Car 30 was sufficiently late and abrupt that it warranted a formal caution. Although the Stewards were not satisfied that the circumstances justified a stronger penalty, they considered that the move was marginally over the limit of what is acceptable when defending into a corner.

"Accordingly, the Stewards impose a Warning on the driver of Car 30."

Prior to the decision, Lawson admitted in a post-race interview: "It was close, it was probably quite aggressive. To be fair, I hadn’t started braking yet, so we were still full throttle, but maybe it was quite aggressive, let’s see [what the stewards say]."

Hadjar added separately: "I'm not going to chase that final point so hard, but I hope the decision they take is sensitive, because that was very aggressive in the car."

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F1 FIA Liam Lawson Silverstone British Grand Prix Isack Hadjar