Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez react to incident that led to grid penalty

Lewis Hamilton was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Sergio Perez in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Hamilton got in the way of Perez at Turn 9 during Q1 - forcing the Mexican to use two sets of soft tyres, putting him at a disadvantage later in qualifying.

The seven-time world champion could only qualify 12th - but will drop three places on the grid. He moves back up to 14th, where he will start the race, due to Alex Albon's DQ.

Hamilton said: “It all went badly from the moment the situation with Perez happened. 

"I did my best to get out of the way, I was far to the left as possible, but timing was bad."

Sergio Perez got his wish for Hamilton to be punished, describing the stewards in 2024 as "really strict" this year.

The Red Bull driver said: ”He has tried his best [to get out of the way] but unfortunately, we just ended up in the wrong [place] at the wrong time.

"The stewards have been really strict this year, and I've got penalties for a lot worse than that, so I do expect him to get a penalty, unfortunately.

"I think he did the best he could [to get out of the way], and there probably should be a little more [margin given] in that regard, but it is what it is.”

The stewards noted: "The driver of Car 44, being on an in lap, was informed by the team that Car 11 was approaching on a fast lap when he entered Turn 8. He then drove off line at the exit of Turn 8 with the intention to give way for Car 11. However, when Car 11 arrived, Car 44 had already entered Turn 9 and drove back towards the racing line at the exit of Turn 9, thereby clearly impeding Car 11.