Red Bull have requested the stewards at the Austrian Grand Prix review their decision not to penalise Lewis Hamilton for speeding under yellow flag conditions during qualifying on Saturday.
Representatives of Hamilton’s Mercedes team were called to the stewards one hour and 25 minutes before the race start, suggesting Red Bull has new evidence that was not considered on Saturday evening.
Hamilton set his fastest qualifying lap, which secured second place on the grid, despite yellow flags showing at Turn 4 and 5 for his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who had run wide through the gravel ahead of him.
Hamilton claimed he didn’t see the flags, which are a signal to drivers to slow down, and then passed a green light panel, used to indicate the track is clear, at Turn 5. Video evidence confirmed a mix of green light panels and yellow flags, which led the stewards to take no further action against Hamilton.
However, a similar situation during qualifying for last year’s Mexican Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen penalised three grid places. In that instance the stewards said the yellow flags were “clearly visible” and “shown with enough notice”, but Red Bull claimed his in-cockpit warning did not show.
Verstappen, who starts directly behind Hamilton and would benefit from any penalty, was penalised three places in Mexico, setting a potential precedent if the stewards deem Hamilton to have made a similar infringement.
Earlier this weekend, Red Bull launched an unsuccessful protest against Mercedes DAS system.
