The seven-time F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, was hit with a five-second time penalty for track limit infringements at the Austrian GP, before being hit with a post-race penalty.
He was not alone, with the FIA flexing its muscles with penalties during Sunday’s big race.
Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, and Logan Sargeant were also handed five-second time penalties for track limit infractions.
Hamilton noted that Sergio Perez was getting away scot-free with making the same violations for which other racers were being punished.
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The Red Bull driver ended up claiming third place on the podium, which may have lent more weight to the British driver’s anger.
Hamilton finished the race well beneath the podium spots in seventh place, with his fellow Mercedes teammate George Russell coming in eighth before post-race penalties were applied.
This continues a poor run of form for Mercedes, who have not proven to be a real challenge to Red Bull in the 2023 season.
With great frustration, Hamilton told Mercedes team engineer, Peter Bonnington, “Yep, Perez went off at turn 10. If they’re dishing these things out they might as well know.”
“This guy has been off every single time!”
After being told that he had received a penalty, Hamilton said: “Just have a look at those because some of those are bull**** calls.”
However, he did seem to acknowledge that turn 10 was causing him serious problems.
Defending himself during the 71-lap GP, Hamilton told his Mercedes team: “I can’t keep it on the track. The car won’t turn.”
It was McLaren’s Lando Harris who was most notably blasting Hamilton for his shaky performance on Sunday.
When the McLaren team asked Lando to report on Hamilton’s violations, he replied: “He’s going off every lap everywhere. I’m not going to talk the whole time.”
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Hamilton reportedly also complained about Norris exceeding track limits, after his own penalty, according to media sources.
Clearly, the Mercedes driver was frustrated – the team principal, Toto Wolff, came onto the pit wall to calm Hamilton down.
Wolff urged Hamilton on, saying: “Lewis, the car is bad, we know. Please drive it!”