Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget at the Dutch Grand Prix. His race came to an early end on lap 23 when he lost control at Turn 3 and crashed out. It was a rare mistake from the seven time world champion. But even after his retirement the drama was not over. Before the race had even started Hamilton had already come under investigation for failing to follow yellow flag rules on his way to the grid.

The stewards found that he did not slow enough under double yellow flags and also failed to drive at a greatly reduced speed when entering the pit lane. That meant he had broken the International Sporting Code as well as Formula 1’s sporting regulations. As punishment Hamilton was handed a five place grid drop for the Italian Grand Prix, his first at Monza as a Ferrari driver, along with two penalty points on his super licence.

The FIA explained that although Hamilton lifted off and braked earlier than usual, the reduction in speed was not considered significant enough. Normally such an offence could result in a ten place penalty, but because he did make some effort to slow down the stewards showed some leniency and reduced the sanction to five places. Even so it is a costly mistake that will hurt his chances in front of Ferrari’s home fans.

On the other hand, his teammate Charles Leclerc escaped punishment after contact with George Russell, with the stewards judging it a racing incident.