Mercedes fined for Hamilton's unsafe release

Mercedes has been fined €10,000 for unsafe release of Lewis Hamilton into the pit lane during the final free practice session of the German Grand Prix.

Hamilton was released into the path of Haas driver Romain Grosjean to hit the brakes and come to a stop, to avoid an accident.

The reigning F1 world champion started the weekend with two reprimands to his name already in 2016, with a third resulting in a 10-place grid penalty.

The precedent for unsafe releases was unclear, with penalties ranging from a reprimand to a grid drop and a fine.

The stewards at Hockenheim opted to fine Mercedes €10,000 for the incident, which meant Hamilton avoided any individual penalty.