After hours of waiting, the verdict is now announced. Lewis Hamilton faces disqualification from Friday’s qualifying session, while Max Verstappen walks away with a 50,000 euro fine. A disastrous result for Mercedes and their champion, who now head to the Brazilian GP with a bigger disadvantage than they arrived with.

Hamilton’s FIA report after the qualifying session came as a shock; the Mercedes driver was ecstatic about his lucky pole position. Moments later, the FIA announced that Verstappen was to see the Stewards as well for breaching parc ferme regulations. Now, as the decree is out, Verstappen’s penalty does nothing to impede his race and championship run, while Lewis may not have the weekend he wants.

Red Bull and Verstappen will have a spring in their step, as the penalty does nothing to their title battle. Contrarily, for Mercedes and Hamilton, the weekend is snowballing into disaster.

Why Max Verstappen was let off easy

On the surface, the violation didn’t seem as serious for Verstappen. While Hamilton faced a technical breach, Verstappen’s was only a violation of the sporting code.

The leading argument was that the Dutchman damaged the rear wing of the Mercedes. However, the referees denied such allegations, stating that the force Verstappen exerted on Hamilton’s DRS was “insignificant”.

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Additionally, the Stewards analyzed Verstappen’s mishap as a common violation; one that requires stricter supervision. “It has become clear to the Stewards that it has become a habit of the drivers to touch cars after qualifying and the races.” This was a common point of discussion as this wasn’t the first time this has happened in parc ferme.

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Verstappen had presented the same point, and the Stewards put the action aside as “harmless.” Although Verstappen’s violation was written off, the FIA has warned drivers of repeating this; the next time, the repercussions will not be the same. So, from now, parc ferme will be under the scrutiny of the FIA.

Calamity strikes for Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes

Having breached a technical regulation of the FIA mandate, Mercedes has made a costly mistake for themselves and the driver. The disqualification means that Lewis Hamilton will start the sprint race from the back of the grid.

The Stewards decided that “car 44 failed the test stated in TD/011- 19  and is therefore in breach of Art 3.6.3 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations.”

To add to their woes, Art 1.3.3 of the International Sporting Code states that “it shall be no defense to claim that no performance advantage was obtained”. Therefore, the Stewards ordered the usual penalty for technical non-compliance- disqualification from the qualifying session.

As Hamilton’s penalty adds to the heavy 5-place grid drop he faces on Sunday, a possibility of changing rear wings to rectify the problem risks putting him at the back of the grid on Sunday as well.

As the championship battle hits yet another turning point at the Brazilian GP, the scales tilt towards Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Will Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ plan for damage control suffice in the battle? Or will Max Verstappen walk away from Sao Paulo, further extending the lead? Things can only get more interesting from here and it’s only Saturday.

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