Lewis Hamilton has been hit with a five-second time penalty at the Brazilian Grand Prix, provisionally promoting Carlos Sainz into the first podium finish of his Formula One career.
Hamilton collided with Red Bull’s Alexander Albon in the closing stages, which cost the Red Bull driver what would have been his first F1 podium. Hamilton ended up finishing third behind Pierre Gasly, who made his first trip to the rostrum.
Hamilton fully accepted blame for the Albon incident afterwards, saying: “I massively apologise to Albon I went for a move, the gap was kind of there, but obviously it closed right at the end. Completely my fault.”
As the verdict was handed down after the podium ceremony, it meant Hamilton actually visited the podium and collected the third-place trophy before visiting the stewards.
When the Hamilton verdict was handed down, Sainz was also under investigation for improper use of his Drag Reduction System (DRS) in the closing stages. If Sainz is also penalised, it would elevate Kimi Raikkonen to his first podium since joining Alfa Romeo at the start of this season.
More to follow…