Did Ferrari deserve fine for Lewis Hamilton knocking over mechanic during Belgian Grand Prix?

The incident occurred when Hamilton stopped under the Virtual Safety Car on Lap 20 at Spa-Francorchamps. Ferrari released the seven-time Formula 1 champion while a mechanic moved towards the front-right wheel carrying a wing-adjustment tool.

The mechanic was knocked to the ground but escaped injury. Hamilton immediately stopped his car and waited until the crew member had moved safely away before continuing. Following a post-race investigation, the FIA stewards fined Ferrari €30,000, with €10,000 suspended for 12 months.

Hamilton was cleared of any responsibility. The stewards ruled that the incident did not warrant a sporting penalty against the Ferrari driver. The #44 car entered the pits while serving a five-second penalty for his opening-lap contact with Mercedes driver George Russell.

Ferrari was required to serve the penalty before beginning work on the SF-26. Once the five seconds had elapsed, all four tyres were changed. However, a late instruction to adjust Hamilton’s front wing caused confusion among the Ferrari crew.

The stewards explained: "HAM told his engineer that he wanted a front wing adjustment, but that was not conveyed to the super controller. HAM came into his pit box and served the time penalty, and at the end of the 5 seconds, one member of the team announced ‘Go’ and then ‘0.6 degrees’, the former being an instruction to commence the pit stop and the latter being an instruction for a wing adjustment."

Once the tyre change was completed, the jackman lowered Hamilton’s car, and the green release light was activated.  The stewards continued: "Just as the driver moved off, another mechanic with a front wing tool moved forward into the path of the front right tyre. Before he stepped forward, he had his head down looking at the tool and did not see the green light."

Hamilton reacted immediately after the mechanic was struck, stopping before the situation could become more serious. Ferrari acknowledged that their driver had been released unsafely and blamed the incident on several communication failures.

The team cited the late wing-adjustment instruction, unclear communication and the mechanic’s failure to notice the green release light. As a result the wing tweaks Hamilton requested were not made before he got away from his pit box.

The stewards added: "The team committed to undertaking a review of their pit stop procedures to ensure an incident such as this will not be repeated."

They concluded that Hamilton had followed the team’s release signal and was therefore not at fault. The incident did "not justify a sporting penalty", according to the stewards, but Ferrari’s unsafe release warranted "a significant fine".

The suspended €10,000 portion will remain suspended provided Ferrari avoids a similar infringement during the next 12 months.

Ferrari must also submit a report to the FIA explaining what happened and detailing the protocols introduced to prevent another mechanic being placed in danger.