How Max Verstappen saved F1 rival Lewis Hamilton from FIA penalty at British GP

Photo: © IMAGO

F1 British Grand Prix

How Max Verstappen saved Lewis Hamilton from FIA penalty at British GP

The two F1 greats fought hard at Silverstone

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 7 July 2026 08:55 Updated: 09:11

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Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen may just have helped his old rival Lewis Hamilton avoid a penalty at the British Grand Prix last weekend.

Hamilton and Verstappen were involved in another mighty battle for position at Silverstone, as they were earlier this month at the Austrian GP.

The pair were squabbling for second position at the British GP, before Verstappen's late crash saw him face a third DNF of the season, while the resulting safety car saw Hamilton drop down to third in the race.

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But before those unfortunate events for the pair of them, Verstappen seemed to have helped Hamilton avoid what would have been a second time penalty of the race.

Hamilton was already penalised earlier in the race for a start procedure infringement and handed a five-second time penalty which ruined his chances of claiming a 10th grand prix victory at Silverstone.

And he was under investigation at the end of the race for an alleged yellow flag infringement, which Hamilton himself admitted would 'probably' lead to a penalty.

RESULTS: Verstappen crash costs Hamilton in dramatic finish

How did Verstappen help Hamilton avoid a penalty at British GP?

The yellow flag lights on Hamilton's display were clearly flashing, as he went past Nico Hulkenberg's stricken Audi car.

However, Sky Sports F1 replays appeared to show green flags actually showing on track at the time. Hamilton did not lift, and instead carried on going at full pace, prompting the investigation.

Hamilton and Verstappen had just been involved in an on-track battle, and Verstappen just behind Hamilton did lift off the throttle when seeing Hulkenberg's car, leading to even more nervousness about a potential Hamilton penalty at his home race.

But FIA race stewards took into consideration the fact that Hamilton had just been involved in an 'overtaking manoeuvre' with Verstappen, and was constantly checking his mirrors, expecting Verstappen to launch a counter attack.

Therefore, they thought it was reasonable for Hamilton not to have seen the yellow lights on his steering wheel, particularly considering the flags on track were showing as green.

Hamilton was therefore just given a reprimand for the incident, rather than any penalty.

Why did Hamilton not receive a penalty at Silverstone?

The stewards' full reasoning for the reprimand for Hamilton rather than a penalty read: "HAM entered the relevant sector before any yellow flag or yellow light panel was displayed, with no such indication present before Turn 9. The first light panel encountered after Turn 9 was displaying green immediately before Turn 10. The yellow indication on the steering wheel display only appeared once the driver was already on the straight towards Turn 10 and close to the end of the yellow flag zone.

"The evidence showed that there was no yellow light panel warning within the driver’s immediate field of vision and that the yellow indication on the steering wheel display remained visible for only a very short period. The Stewards were therefore satisfied that the time available for the driver to react to the yellow flag indication was very limited.

"The Stewards also accept that, immediately prior to entering the sector, HAM had been involved in an overtaking manoeuvre with VER and that the driver was expecting a counter attack. As a result, his attention remained directed to his mirrors for most of the straight towards Turn 10, rather than immediately towards the green light panel at the end of the sector. The Stewards took this into account when considering whether the visibility of the green light panel should itself have made it clear to the driver that he was still within a yellow flag zone.

"The Stewards nevertheless determine that, after the yellow had been displayed on the steering wheel display and the green light panel was illuminated immediately before Turn 10, HAM did not make a discernible reduction of speed and therefore did not fully comply with the requirements applicable under a single yellow flag.

"In determining the penalty, the Stewards took into account that HAM had entered the sector before the yellow was shown, that the yellow indication reached the driver only when he was already near the end of the sector, that the time and distance available to react were very limited, and that the driver’s attention had, for understandable reasons, been occupied by the immediately preceding battle with another car."

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton FIA British Grand Prix