F1 News: Mercedes FINED and Lewis Hamilton cautioned after Saudi Arabia incident

Lewis Hamilton, Bahrain GP, Mercedes, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Saudi Arabia GP

Mercedes FINED and Hamilton cautioned after Saudi Arabia incident

A verdict has been reached over Hamilton's incident with Logan Sargeant

By Tyler Rowlinson.

Friday 8 March 2024 20:00

Lewis Hamilton has been issued with a warning, and Mercedes a fine after narrowly avoiding a major accident with Williams' Logan Sargeant during second practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso was the standout on Thursday, finishing second in FP1 and topping the timesheets in FP2 to kick off the weekend in fashion for Aston Martin.

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However, FP2 was filled with traffic problems on the circuit and several drivers came close to colliding on the fast-paced track.

Lewis Hamilton has been given a warning for his FP2 incident

Logan Sargeant had to run off track to avoid the Mercedes

Mercedes fined over Sargeant incident

The American was forced to take evasive action off the track to avoid the slow-moving Mercedes and was left unimpressed over the team radio, saying: "Mate, come on. It's too dangerous.”

Hamilton said over the Mercedes radio that he was unaware that Sargeant was on a lap as he trying to let Carlos Sainz past: "I didn't realise someone was on a lap. I was trying to get out of the way for Sainz and all of a sudden there was a Williams there."

The incident was looked at after the session by the stewards and the seven-time champion was issued with a warning and Mercedes were fined 15,000 euros for their part in the incident.

Mercedes were fined 15,000 euros for their part in the incident

An official FIA statement said: "Car 2 (Sargeant) had to take evasive action by going off the track to avoid a collision. Had that not been done, there would have been a serious, high speed crash.

"Having listened to the team radio, it was clear to us that the team of Car 44 failed to warn their driver of the fact that Car 2 was arriving on a fast lap. That was a serious failure on the part of the team, particularly given the speeds on this circuit and the nature of turn 11, which is at the end of a series of high speed corners where driver visibility is impaired.

"We therefore issue a warning to the driver and impose a fine of €15,000 to the team."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Carlos Sainz Aston Martin Williams Logan Sargeant