Toto Wolff just exposed why Lewis Hamilton penalty at Belgian GP made no sense

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Lewis Hamilton may have lost a podium after receiving a five-second penalty for an incident with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Russell came together at the Les Combes chicane, ending the Mercedes driver’s race. The stewards ruled that the former was wholly at fault.

Ferrari told Hamilton over the radio that he deserved a top-three finish, though he was 5.7 seconds behind Max Verstappen at the chequered flag.

Kimi Antonelli wins the Belgian Grand Prix! What was your main takeaway from the race? 🏁

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It’s unclear if the enforced delay to the pit stop contributed to the confusion surrounding Hamilton’s front-wing flap change and his ensuing collision with a mechanic.

Toto Wolff calls Lewis Hamilton and George Russell clash a racing incident

Martin Brundle cleared Russell of blame, but was surprised that the stewards handed out a penalty. They tend to set a higher bar for punishments on the opening lap.

In the media pen, Russell himself said that it was a racing incident. His main frustration was that he was down on power on the Kemmel Straight, which saw him swamped by multiple cars.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff agreed with that assessment, even if he felt Russell had driven cleanly.

“Tried the outside here, it should have been his corner,” Wolff said. “But that’s a racing incident, these things can happen, whether you’re at the front, in the middle or at the back of the pack.”

The question for the stewards now is why they handed out a penalty when the supposed victim of the crime felt it wasn’t necessary. Perhaps there was an element of Mercedes protecting a team legend, but that would be a bigger consideration for Wolff than Russell.

Fans have complained in the past about penalty decisions taking too long, but this was one instance where the outcome might have been different if the stewards had listened to both parties after the race.