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In three out of the six races that Lewis Hamilton failed to win in 2020, he was penalized. The Briton says he learned a lesson from that.
Hamilton received penalties in three races, first at the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying for failing to slow for yellow flags, then in the race for a collision with Alex Albon. He then received a 10 second stop-and-go penalty for entering the pitlane while it was closed at the Italian Grand Prix.
The most outrage came from the penalties Hamilton received at the Russian Grand Prix. He received two five-second penalties for an infringement made before the race while doing practice starts.
After the race Hamilton blasted the Stewards saying “They are trying to stop me, aren’t they”? Hamilton now says those comments were made in the “heat of the moment”.
“Ultimately you say things in the heat of the moment,” said the seven-time champion.
“When you feel that you’re swimming against a tide sometimes, I think that is a human reaction. Looking back, we can always look and think we can do things differently.
“I think we’ve grown. There’s been a lot of growth I think this year, both as a sport and the steps that we’ve taken.
“Probably for myself, my experience – I rarely get to see the stewards, but I think with the FIA and with the stewards, I think there’s been a growth of respect between us, and understanding.”
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However the Briton still doesn’t think those penalties were justified.
“I still don’t think those penalties were the necessary penalties. But it is what it is and it’s not my job to come up with what the penalties should be.
“I learned a lesson from it, and they won’t be able to catch me out for that again, that’s for sure. I’ve just got to be very vigilant and diligent moving forwards.
“Naturally as an athlete, I’m always trying to find an edge, I’m always trying to find that extra, extra bit. It’s a fine line between being over the edge and beneath it. It’s fine if that one was over the edge.
“I learned from it, and it won’t happen again.”
