Lewis Hamilton’s nightmare weekend at Zandvoort has gone from bad to worse after Formula 1 stewards handed him a five-place grid penalty for next week’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The seven-time world champion was punished for failing to slow sufficiently under double yellow flags during reconnaissance laps before the start of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s Sunday had already ended in disappointment. Running seventh on lap 23, he crashed out after rain left the track slippery, his Ferrari sliding onto painted asphalt before understeering into the barriers. The heavy impact snapped off his front-right wheel and forced his retirement, leaving him scoreless for a second consecutive race.
Because of his DNF, Hamilton could not serve any potential penalty during the race itself. Stewards reviewed the incident post-race, heard from the Briton, and ultimately ruled against him. Alongside the grid drop, he also received two penalty points on his FIA super licence.
Explaining the decision, the stewards highlighted the importance of safety near the pit lane, noting that all drivers had been warned about double waved yellow flags at the final corner. Telemetry showed Hamilton did reduce his speed—around 20kph slower than in practice, with earlier braking and reduced throttle—but the stewards deemed this insufficient.
In their ruling, they wrote:
“We did not consider that a 20kph reduction in speed at a double waved yellow sector constituted reducing speed ‘significantly’. We also did not consider the speed at which the driver entered the pit entry road as being at a ‘greatly’ reduced speed.”
Under the regulations, the standard punishment for such an offence is a 10-place grid penalty. However, Hamilton’s attempts to slow down were acknowledged as mitigating factors, leading to the reduced sanction of five places.
That means Hamilton will start the Italian Grand Prix weekend already on the back foot—adding further frustration to what has been a difficult run of results.
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