Lewis Hamilton’s stewards referral in Brazil might have major ramifications for the rest of his weekend.
The reigning World Champion’s car has been reported to the stewards at Interlagos, potentially making Lewis Hamilton’s Brazilian Grand Prix weekend even more difficult.
Hamilton’s W12 was found to be in violation of one of the rules relating the operation of the car during scrutineering after he set the fastest time in qualifying, beating Max Verstappen by four tenths of a second in Q3.
Mercedes has been formally summoned before the stewards for allegedly violating the DRS Technical Regulations (Drag Reduction System). The exact regulation states: “The distance between adjacent sections at any longitudinal vertical plane must lie between 10mm and 15mm at their closest position, except when this distance must lie between 10mm and 85mm when the DRS system is deployed.”
Simply put, Hamilton’s DRS is said to have opened up beyond the allowed range. This would have the effect of reducing drag and increasing top speed beyond what is allowed by the DRS parameters.
What’s next for Hamilton?
Unfortunately for Hamilton, the stewards’ decision appears to be rather clear. Because of the nature of technical violations, there is usually no gray area, therefore if Hamilton’s DRS was allowed to open too wide, it was a violation of the Technical Regulations.
This would rule Hamilton out of qualifying and compel him to start the Sprint Qualifying race from the pit lane, as he would not have qualified on Friday.
To make matters worse, the vehicle is in parc ferme condition as of qualifying’s start, which means he’ll have to start from the pit lane if any setup changes are required to make the car conform with the regulations.
This would be disastrous for Hamilton, given his Sprint Qualifying finish will determine his grid position for Sunday’s race. He’ll have 24 circuits to gain as many positions as possible before serving his engine change grid penalty, which will drop him five positions from wherever he finishes Sprint Qualifying.
If Hamilton is disqualified from qualifying, as seems likely, championship leader Max Verstappen will start the Sprint Qualifying race in first place.
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