FIA stewards "won't catch me out again" in 2021 - Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton

FIA stewards "won't catch me out again" in 2021 - Hamilton

F1 champion visited the stewards' office on occasion in 2020

Ewan Gale

Thursday 24 December 2020 17:59

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has welcomed the "growth of respect" between drivers and race stewards despite a tumultuous season involving penalties.

Hamilton raised eyebrows at the Russian Grand Prix when suggesting the FIA "were trying to stop me" after being handed two five-second penalties for performing practice starts in the wrong area of the pit-exit.

Upon reflection, the world champion backtracked from his original comments but still believed the penalities were unjust.

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"Ultimately, you say things in the heat of the moment and say things when you feel you are swimming against a tide sometimes," he explained. "That is a human reaction.

"Looking back, of course, we can always say we could do things differently. I think there has been a lot of growth this year, both as a sport and the steps we have taken.

"I think probably for myself, my experience that hopefully -I rarely do get to see the stewards - with the FIA and the stewards, there has been a growth of respect between us and understanding.

"I still don't think those penalities were the necessary penalties but it is what it is. It is not my job to come up with what the penalties should be."

Hamilton received multiple penalties throughout the year, including for a collision with Alex Albon in Austria and entering a closed pit-lane at Monza.

The Briton insists he will use the punishments as a learning point for finding the limit of acceptability for the 2021 campaign.

"I learnt a lesson from it and they won't be able to catch me out for that again, that's for sure," he said.

"I just have to be very vigilant and diligent moving forwards. Naturally, as an athlete, I am always trying to find an edge, I am always trying to find that extra, extra bit. It is always a fine line between being over the edge and beneath it.

"It is fine if that was over the edge and I learnt from it and it won't happen again."