Legality of Lewis Hamilton's Bahrain GP start under scrutiny

Questions have been raised over the decision to restore the original grid order at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia following formation lap chaos, after a controversial procedure call handed Lewis Hamilton a massive race lifeline.

Former Aston Martin strategist and now Sky Sports analyst Bernie Collins has highlighted potential issues with the way race control handled the aborted start at the Sepang International Circuit.

Hamilton had suffered formation lap issues that saw him drop from second place to the back of the field, before a suspended start procedure led to confusion on the pit wall. 

Under standard regulations, cars entering the pit lane behind the safety car during a suspended procedure are required to start in the order they entered.

The rule that is referred to is Article B5.15.1, which states that “any F1 cars that entered the pit lane behind the Safety Car when the start procedure was suspended will be arranged in the order they entered the pit lane.”

However, race control ultimately chose to go against this rule and reset the grid to the original order for the restart, sparing Hamilton from starting at the rear of the grid.

Speaking on the incident ahead of the restart, Collins pointed out that while the situation was chaotic, the rulebook leaves little room for interpretation.

“I sort of agree with going back to the grid order because that was so chaotic,” she said.

“But there is literally a rule written for suspension of start procedure that says in black and white, F1 cars entering the pit lane will start in the order they entered the pit lane.

“Yes, that was much more chaotic than that rule is written for, but that rule is written there.

“So the people that have gained because they did a better job during the formation lap, through either understanding of the engine or pure luck or whatever the case may be.

“The people that gained will feel a little bit hard done by if it goes back to grid order. There’ll be pit walls talking to race control in both directions.”

When the Grand Prix finally got underway, Hamilton started with slick tyres from the front row and dropped back into the pack as his tyre gamble ultimately proved to be the wrong choice.

However, by the time the 55-Lap race around the Sepang International Circuit concluded, the British driver was able to cross the line in third place, behind Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.