German Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton could lose race victory as stewards investigate possible penalty

Stewards were investigating whether the Mercedes driver, who won from 14th on the grid, illegally crossed a line separating the pitlane entry from the track

Sunday 22 July 2018 18:12 BST
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Lewis Hamilton risks being stripped of his German Grand Prix victory after being summoned by Hockenheim stewards on Sunday for a possible pit-lane infringement.

Stewards were investigating whether the Mercedes driver, who won from 14th on the grid, illegally crossed a line separating the entry from the track when he hurriedly changed his mind about pitting during a safety car period.

Hamilton, who could be handed a time penalty if found guilty of the offence, finished 4.5 seconds ahead of Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas and 6.7 clear of Ferrari's third-placed Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen collected a five-second penalty in Azerbaijan two years ago for a pitlane offence.

However race director Charlie Whiting, speaking as stewards continued their deliberations, told reporters that incident was "quite a lot different" and he could not recall any other direct precedent.

Whiting said the stewards would have to decide whether Hamilton had acted in an unsafe manner or not.

The summons came more than an hour after the end of the race at Hockenheim, after the podium presentations and news conferences.

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