Lewis Hamilton faces three-place grid penalty at Austrian GP from qualifying incident
LEWIS HAMILTON could be handed a three-place grid penalty at the Austrian Grand Prix after an incident with Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying.
Austrian GP: Lewis Hamilton reveals he loves a close race
It was quickly clear in Q2 of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix that Hamilton was unhappy his Mercedes car.
But things went from bad to worse midway through the session when it was revealed an incident involving Hamilton and Raikkonen in Q1 was being investigated by stewards.
Hamilton appeared to block the Alfa Romeo driver heading into Turn 3 and Raikkonen was clearly less than impressed.
Replays from Raikkonen’s cockpit appeared to show the former F1 champion holding up his middle finger in the direction of Hamilton.
It was announced during Q2 that stewards would be investigating the incident after the race, with the possibility of him being handed a three-place grid penalty.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was in a similar situation at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this month.
He was adjudged to have impeded Toro Rosso's Alexander Albon as the pair headed through turns 1 and 2.
And Sainz was subsequently handed a three-place grid penalty, which saw him drop down to 12th on the grid.
It was announced during Q2 that stewards would be investigating the incident after the race, with the possibility of him being handed a three-place grid penalty.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was in a similar situation at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier this month.
He was adjudged to have impeded Toro Rosso's Alexander Albon as the pair headed through turns 1 and 2.
And Sainz was subsequently handed a three-place grid penalty, which saw him drop down to 12th on the grid.
Raikkonen though was perplexed by what Hamilton chose to do in the incident.
“I don’t know why he slowed down and didn’t let me pass,” he said.
“He kind of slowed down and then sped up on the racing line, but we’ll see what happens.”