Lewis Hamilton unleashed his anger at Sergio Perez during a team radio meltdown at the Austrian Grand Prix after the FIA failed to penalize the Red Bull driver for breaking track limits rules.
The seven-time champion, who had already received a five-second penalty for crossing the line at turn 10, voiced his displeasure, believing that penalties were being inconsistently applied.
Speaking to race engineer Peter Bonnington, Hamilton exclaimed, “Yep, Perez went off at turn 10. If they’re dishing these things out, they might as well know.”
He later added, “This guy has been off every single time, turn 10 again.”
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Despite Perez eventually receiving a track limits violation at turn nine, he was not given a time penalty.
Hamilton was not the only driver affected by the rules, as FIA stewards continued to enforce track limits throughout the race. Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Nyck de Vries, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly were among the drivers who faced penalties.
Lando Norris had also voiced his concerns about Hamilton’s actions before the Mercedes driver received his penalty.
Norris remarked, “He’s going off every lap everywhere. I’m not going to talk the whole time.”
Hamilton expressed his fury at the decision and called on his team to investigate the incident, stating, “Just have a look at those because some of those are bull**** calls.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff intervened via radio to calm Hamilton down and assure him of the situation.
READ: Guenther Steiner blasts FIA for favouring Max Verstappen
Hamilton inquired, “Has anyone else got penalties yet?” to which Wolff replied, “Lewis, they are all going to get penalties in front of you, all of them. So keep going.”
On lap 43, Hamilton served his five-second penalty when he made a pit stop for fresh tires. As the race progressed, teams recognised the importance of staying within the track limits to avoid penalties and gain positions.
McLaren engineer Will Joseph encouraged Norris to adhere to the boundaries in order to secure valuable points, saying over the team radio, “I know you’ll hate me, but we must be within track limits every lap. There is so much going on.”