Yahoo Autos How Lewis Hamilton Lost the F1 Russian Grand Prix Before it Even Started
History will have to wait.
Lewis Hamilton, hoping to match Michael Schumacher's 91 career victories with a win from the pole at the F1 Russian Grand Prix on Sunday, saw his chances derailed in the stewards' room when he was slapped with a 10-second penalty for making a practice start on his way from the pits to the starting grid.
Stewards deemed that Hamilton's stop-start was conducted outside an approved area. He was given not one, but two penalties, for what appeared to be the same infraction.
After the race, Hamilton said little to defend his actions or contest the ruling.
"It is what it is," Hamilton said. "It doesn't matter. It's done now. I'll take the points that I got and move on."
According to the stewards' official report, Hamilton was deemed to have broken dreaded FIA International Sporting Cord Article 12.1.1 (i).
Two official reports, written exactly the same, were posted early in the race that resulted in not one, but two 5-second penalties:
Offense: Breach of the FIA International Sporting Code Article 12.1.1 (i), failure to follow the instructions contained in the Event Notes (v3) item 19.1, practice start location at 13:32 and Article 36.1 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.
Decision: 5 second time penalty (1 penalty points imposed, total of 9 points in the 12-month period)
