FIA called out for ‘double standards’ as Lewis Hamilton escapes fine for Franco Colapinto gesture

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The FIA have been called out for ‘double standards’ after Lewis Hamilton escaped a fine at the Miami Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion appeared to show Franco Colapinto his middle finger following an incident in the race.

During a first-lap melee at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend, Lewis Hamilton was seen to be very unhappy with Franco Colapinto after the Alpine F1 driver seemingly ran the Briton wide at turn 11.

Hamilton was left with race-ruining damage to his SF-26, but his gesture to the Argentine was seen as unsporting by many, despite the Ferrari star’s loyal fans defending his response.

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Due to his downforce being limited by the damage, Hamilton was only able to claim a P6 finish following the chequered flag. It was seen as a massively disappointing result for Ferrari due to the fact that they brought 11 new upgrades to the race weekend.

• READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer says Lewis Hamilton only has ‘himself to blame’ for Franco Colapinto incident in Miami

Daniel Juncadella calls out the FIA for ‘double standards’ over Lewis Hamilton incident

Former F1 reserve driver and now Max Verstappen’s teammate for the upcoming Nurburgring 24 Hours, Daniel Juncadella, took to social media to share his thoughts on Hamilton’s gesture towards Colapinto.

The Spaniard replied to an image of the incident on X with, “So I take it there wasn’t a fine, was there? The FIA’s double standards… They never fail.”

Juncadella was referring to an incident that involved World Endurance Championship rival Augusto Farfus and himself at last year’s 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Driving for TF Sport in the LMGT3 category, Juncadella appeared to wave his middle finger at the Brazilian driver during a heated battle.

He was subsequently slapped with a fine by the FIA, after stewards deemed the gesture to be ‘rude, disrespectful and wholly inappropriate in motorsport’.

One user replied to Juncadella’s initial post and asserted that the incident involving Hamilton and Colapinto in Miami wasn’t that serious.

The Spaniard agreed, but still wants the seven-time world champion to face the same consequences as him. He replied via X, “I don’t think it’s right for them to do that. But slap him with a €2,000 (£1728) fine, just like they did to me.”

• READ MORE: David Croft fears Ferrari are ‘in trouble’ after Miami Grand Prix upgrade misses targets

F1 have never penalised drivers for showing their rivals the middle finger

While the FIA’s International Sporting Code stipulates that drivers can face a fine of up to €40,000 for making ‘obscene gestures’, it is rarely enforced in F1.

A recent example of it happening and a driver getting off scot-free came during the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix. After Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez made contact at the latter’s home race, the former showed his rival the middle finger after overtaking a few laps later.

The Kiwi driver later apologised for his actions in the cockpit, citing his frustrations during the heat of battle as the reason for it.

Still, Lawson received a verbal reprimand from the then-Red Bull boss Christian Horner, as well as a telling off from his father after the race weekend had concluded.