Martin Brundle hints Lewis Hamilton was lucky to avoid another Monaco Grand Prix penalty

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Lewis Hamilton appeared to breach one of the fundamental rules of racing during the Monaco Grand Prix, Martin Brundle said.

Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, along with several other drivers, but he was able to serve it behind the safety car.

However, during the red flag brought out by Charles Leclerc’s crash in the sister car, the stewards investigated Hamilton for a potential safety car infringement.

Lewis Hamilton dropped ’30 car lengths’ behind Kimi Antonelli under safety car

Replays showed Hamilton falling more than 10 car lengths behind race leader Kimi Antonelli, which isn’t allowed under the regulations without mitigating circumstances.

While a driver can’t measure the gap ‘precisely’, Brundle said it was obvious that Hamilton had dropped too far back. This can disrupt drivers in front and behind.

“Lewis was definitely backing up a bit whilst warming up his tyres,” lead Sky Sports commentator David Croft noted.

“The key here is, was anyone disadvantaged behind Lewis Hamilton, who then had to slow down behind that safety car as a result of Lewis being more than 10 car lengths behind. He definitely was.”

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Photo credit: Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Scuderia Ferrari HP Press Office, Oracle Red Bull Racing / Red Bull Content Pool, McLaren Racing

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Brundle replied: “He’s about 30 car lengths behind there, isn’t he? What that does, it can disadvantage who’s in front of you if they have to back right up towards the end of the lap if they have to back right up when they become the de facto leader.

“They’re fundamentals, your 10 lengths. You can’t measure it precisely, of course, sitting in a car, but you get a good feel for it.”

The stewards ultimately decided to take no further action against Hamilton, who finished 6.2 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli in P2.

Hamilton was 17 seconds ahead of third-place Isack Hadjar, so only a severe penalty would have changed his result. In the first five races, there was only one sanction handed out for a safety car breach, with Sergio Perez docked five seconds for exceeding the minimum lap time in China.