Lewis Hamilton avoids penalty, keeps pole for F1 Russian GP

Lewis Hamilton will keep pole position for Formula 1’s Russian Grand Prix after being cleared for a possible track limits infringement.

Hamilton, along with both Haas drivers and Williams' Nicholas Latifi, were all summoned before the stewards over an alleged failure to follow the recently-revised track limits rule at the Sochi Autodrom.

All four drivers had their respective lap times deleted for the infringement after accepting they were in the wrong, and the FIA stewards ultimately deemed no further action was necessary. 

On Saturday morning, just hours before qualifying got underway, FIA F1 race director Micahel Masi issued new guidance to drivers regarding track limits at Turn 2.

Drivers were told: “each time any car fails to negotiate Turn 2 by using the track, and who passes to the left of, or has any part of the car over the first orange kerb element prior to the apex, or to the left of the orange apex sausage at Turn 2, must then re-join the track by driving around the array of blocks as indicated by the arrows before the re-joining the track at Turn 3.”

Replays of Hamilton’s incident showed that he failed to return to the track by driving between the blocks when he cut the corner in Q1.

The Briton also ran wide at the same corner in Q2 but on this occasion he did return to the track in the manner advised by the FIA.

Both times, Hamilton had lap times deleted for transgressing the track limits rules.

He went on to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by half a second to claim the 96th pole of his F1 career.