Lewis Hamilton qualifying incident leads to FIA penalty ahead of Japanese Grand Prix

The FIA has announced a penalty for Williams star Carlos Sainz after an incident that ruined one of Lewis Hamilton's qualifying laps ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Ferrari star made it through Q2 despite being heavily impeded at the very first corner of a hot lap by the Williams driver (whose seat he took over the winter), progress the Spaniard failed to match.

Hamilton, who qualified eighth, 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 the 40-year-old to swerve around him at the last minute.

The incident was referred to the stewards for investigation and now, Sainz has been handed a three-place grid penalty ahead of Sunday's race, knocking him down from 12th to 15th.

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Hamilton-Sainz incident verdict in full

An official FIA statement on the incident involving Hamilton and Sainz read: "The stewards, heard from the driver of Car 55 [Carlos Sainz], team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence.

"Car 55 was on an in lap after having completed a push lap when Car 44 was starting its push lap, and Car 44 had to move off track to avoid Car 55 in Turn 1.

"The driver of Car 55 stated that he did not have any warning from the team, of the approach of Car 44 on a push lap. He stated he was caught completely by surprise and because of the approach speed of Car 44, and the angle of his car, he could not see Car 44 in his mirrors."

The stewards argued however that Sainz's Williams team had plenty of warning that Hamilton was on a push lap which could have led the Spaniard to take appropriate action should he have been advised to do so by the team.

Concluding with confirmation of the punishment, the stewards declared: "It is noted that the standard penalty guideline for this offence during qualifying irrespective of whether it was the fault of the driver or the team, is a three grid position penalty, and therefore the stewards find that the standard penalty should be applied."

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