Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly called to stewards after Japanese GP practice incident
LEWIS HAMILTON and Pierre Gasly were called to see the stewards following the first Japanese Grand Prix practice session this morning.
Hamilton was almost half a second quicker than team-mate Valtteri Bottas and over six tenths faster than title rival Sebastian Vettel, despite being on the more durable medium tyres.
However, the Brit had a near-miss with Toro Rosso’s Gasly which could have ended disastrously for the Silver Arrows driver.
Hamilton’s quick-thinking at the final chicane forced him to leave the road to avoid a crash as Gasly eased off the gas.
The pair were hauled to explain the incident to the stewards after FP1 and their investigation led to Gasly being reprimanded.
The 22-year-old was was charged with 'driving unnecessarily slowly' and 'impeding' Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Hamilton is hoping to extend his 50-point gap to Vettel in Suzuka this weekend.
However, he still expects Ferrari to be right on his tail come lights out.
“No it has not raised my eyebrows,” Hamilton said of Ferrari’s poor pace.
“We were definitely not expecting them to be as fast we were in the last race. I think our car worked really well.
“It is difficult to know how much were have improved as opposed to have they stood still or gone backwards. We have no idea.
“Maybe we will have a better understanding here because we expect it to be closer.
“I can’t wait to drive around this track because it is going to be the fastest we have ever driven here in Suzuka.”
Japanese FP1 results
1) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:28.691
2) Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.446
3) Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull +0.682
4) Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +0.936
5) Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.994
6) Max Verstappen Red Bull +1.150
7) Esteban Ocon Force India+1.900
8) Romain Grosjean Haas +2.123
9) Charles Leclerc Sauber +2.238
10) Marcus Ericsson Sauber +2.382
11) Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso +2.382
12) Carlos Sainz Renault +2.409
13) Sergio Perez Force India +2.581
14) Kevin Magnussen Haas +2.583
15) Nico Hulkenberg Renault +2.727
16) Lance Stroll Williams +2.817
17) Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso +3.217
18) Fernando Alonso McLaren +3.343
19) Sergey Sirotkin Williams +3.822
20) Lando Norris McLaren +3.992