Hamilton's 'Role Model Status' Reason For FIA To 'Revisit' The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix Incident

Monday, 16 October 2023 at 12:00

FIA spokesperson recently announced the organization is revisiting the incident in which Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton crossed the track after a crash.

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix seems to be haunting Lewis Hamilton even a week after it has finished. The great qualifying result placed the British driver in third position on the grid before the start of the Grand Prix.

However, everything went wrong for Lewis Hamilton after the first lap incident between him and his teammate George Russell, which put him out of the race.

Following the incident, Hamilton broke the rules when he crossed the live track right before a car passed behind him at a considerably high speed. The seven-time World Champion then received a €50,000 fine as a consequence.

As if all this was not enough for the number 44 driver, an FIA spokesperson recently mentioned that the organization will be revisiting this incident:

“"The FIA is revisiting the incident in which Lewis Hamilton crossed a live track during the Qatar Grand Prix. The FIA notes that Lewis was apologetic during the subsequent stewards hearing into the incident and acknowledged that the crossing was a serious safety breach."”

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Crossing live track can be extremely dangerous and FIA is apparently concerned about Hamliton's "role model" status and the influence his actions might have on younger drivers.

“"However, in view of his role model status, the FIA is concerned about the impression his actions may have created on younger drivers."”

This situation is strange because, on one hand, the seven-time world champion is one of the most famous figures that represent the sport of Formula One and surely has an influence on many younger drivers.

On the other hand, it seems weird that Hamilton should receive some special treatment because of this and be punished differently than other F1 drivers would be for the same mistake.

It is also unclear whether the 38-year-old is the only role model on the grid. Fernando Alonso, for example, could belong to the same category as multiple drivers on the grid who mentioned they looked up to him.

While no further details in relation to revisiting this incident are available, we will post updates as this case develops.