Why Lewis Hamilton was penalised for F1 Belgian GP clash - and why Charles Leclerc wasn’t

The Formula 1 stewards have explained why Lewis Hamilton was penalised for his collision with George Russell on the first lap of the Belgian Grand Prix. 

Hamilton came to blows with his former Mercedes team-mate Russell as they battled for position along the Kemmel Straight and Les Combes. 

It was at the exit of Les Combes where the contact occurred, with Russell’s rear-right tagged by Hamilton’s front-left as they attempted to go through the corner side-by-side. 

Russell was pitched into a spin into the gravel bed, putting him out of the race and into a costly retirement that marks a massive blow to his F1 championship hopes. 

The Briton described the collision as being a “racing incident” and felt Hamilton didn’t warrant punishment, which was also the view of Sky Sports F1’s analyst and former grand prix racer Martin Brundle. 

Many were surprised when the verdict came in from the stewards to hand Hamilton a five-second time penalty. 

The stewards have since explained their verdict and how they came to pin the blame on Hamilton. 

“Approaching Turn 5 on the opening lap, Car 63 attempted an overtake around the outside of Car 44 and had established sufficient overlap to be entitled to racing room. Car 44 remained on the inside,” the verdict read. 

"During the corner, Car 44 [Hamilton] experienced understeer and, despite attempting to avoid Car 63 [Russell] by applying corrective steering, made contact with the right-hand side of Car 63 with its left-front wheel. 

"The stewards determined that Car 63 remained within the available racing room and that the collision was caused by Car 44 being unable to maintain sufficient separation.

"The stewards recognise several mitigating circumstances. Car 44 acknowledged the presence of Car 63, attempted to leave appropriate racing room and made a genuine attempt to avoid contact. 

“The collision resulted from a loss of front-end grip rather than from an aggressive or deliberate manoeuvre. In addition, the incident occurred on the opening lap, where reduced grip and compressed racing conditions are recognised."

The stewards revealed that the aforementioned “mitigating circumstances” were the reason Hamilton only received a five-second penalty, rather than the standard 10-second penalty. 

And what about Leclerc? 

The other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc also got in the wars during Sunday’s 44-lap race in Belgium. 

Leclerc clashed with Oscar Piastri on the run to the same corner on lap eight as the McLaren driver attempted to overtake his rival. 

Under braking, the pair made contact, with bits of bodywork seen flying off Piastri’s McLaren. Remarkably, both drivers were able to continue without further drama.

The incident was investigated but unlike Hamilton, Leclerc was cleared of wrongdoing and faced no penalty. 

Some observers pointed out the discrepancy between the stewards’ decisions. 

The stewards explained why Leclerc avoided sanction for his clash with Piastri. 

"On the approach to Turn 5, Car 81 [Piastri] moved to overtake Car 16 [Leclerc] on the outside," they said. 

"Although Car 81 had achieved some overlap with Car 16, its front axle was not ahead of the front axle of Car 16. From the stewards' perspective, there was no realistic possibility of Car 81 completing the overtake from that position.

"The stewards also determined that Car 16 did not deliberately force Car 81 off the edge of the track. Instead, Car 16 followed the normal racing line before the entry to Turn 5 by moving slightly to the left to open up the corner. As a result of both cars' positions, side-to-side contact occurred between them.”

Leclerc ultimately finished second behind, while Piastri took fifth behind Hamilton.

Hamilton is under investigation for a potential unsafe release during his pit stop and could yet be hit with a second penalty.