Lewis Hamilton was officially cautioned for blocking Kimi Antonelli, who is set to replace him at Mercedes, during Friday’s practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix. The incident happened at the Red Bull Ring, where the experienced Briton unintentionally slowed Antonelli, forcing the young Italian to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.
As Antonelli approached Turn 4, he encountered Hamilton moving slowly on the racing line, prompting him to veer left and use a wider trajectory to steer clear. Although Hamilton immediately raised his hand in apology, the stewards reviewed the episode after the session and issued a warning rather than a penalty.
Hamilton explained that he did not spot Antonelli closing in behind him, yet the race officials determined that the blocking was unnecessary.
The driver of Car 44, although constantly checking his mirrors after being informed by the team about Car 12 closing in, slowly moved on to the racing line on the approach to Turn 4 and thereby unnecessarily impeded Car 12 which had to take evasive action,
the stewards stated.
The driver of Car 44 apologised directly after realising his mistake. The Stewards determined that, despite the more lenient approach to impeding in Free Practice, the impeding was unnecessary and that a Warning to the driver is warranted.
Challenging Practice Day for Hamilton at Spielberg
Hamilton faced difficulties during the two practice sessions in Spielberg, placing ninth in FP1 and tenth in FP2. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was notably faster in the second session, finishing fifth and almost four tenths ahead of Hamilton, despite missing FP1. Leclerc had sat out so that Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic could complete his first F1 practice run.
Hamilton voiced dissatisfaction with the performance of his Ferrari during FP2, even though the team introduced several updates at the Austrian Grand Prix venue. These upgrades included a newly designed floor, representing Ferrari’s first technical enhancements since April’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Implications for Hamilton and the Upcoming Sessions
The warning to Hamilton underscores the importance of vigilance during practice, especially with new and younger drivers like Antonelli adapting to Formula 1 at high-speed circuits like the Red Bull Ring. While Hamilton avoided a harsher penalty, the incident reflects the pressures of maintaining awareness during busy sessions.
With upgrades introduced by Ferrari and an evolving field across the grid, how both Hamilton and Antonelli navigate the next phases of the weekend will be closely watched by teams and fans alike as they prepare for qualifying and the race ahead.
