Major penalty looms as FIA investigate Lewis Hamilton Japanese Grand Prix incident

The FIA have confirmed an investigation into an incident involving Lewis Hamilton and Williams driver Carlos Sainz in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Saturday's running was broken up by a number of red flags for grass fires around the track, with two delays in the morning's practice session and another in the key afternoon session.

Qualifying for Sunday's main event was briefly delayed after the session was red-flagged due to the issue but once the remaining drivers got back out on track, Hamilton and former Ferrari star Carlos Sainz were involved in a near-miss incident.

The 40-year-old was on a push lap when he sped around one of the circuit's many high-speed corners to find Sainz driving slowly in the middle of the track, causing Hamilton to swerve around him at the last minute.

Hamilton-Sainz incident under FIA investigation

The incident is now under investigation over Sainz seemingly impeding Hamilton, with the stewards expected to hit the Spaniard with a three-place grid penalty if he is found to be in the wrong.

Speaking on Sky F1's coverage, 1997 world champion and former Williams star Jacques Villeneuve said of the incident: "Drivers shouldn't do that, it is dangerous. They can't purely rely on radio."

At the end of the qualifying session, Hamilton came out on top ahead of Sainz's Williams, who finished P12, but the Ferrari star will likely still be bitterly disappointed to line up on the grid for Sunday's race in P8.

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