HOCKENHEIM, Germany -- Lewis Hamilton is under investigation by the stewards for an alleged unsafe release in the pit lane during final practice.
Hamilton exited his garage directly in front of Romain Grosjean, causing the Haas driver to take avoiding action. The rules state that it is the "responsibility of the competitor to release his car from his garage or pit stop position only when it is safe to do so" before adding that the stewards may give a competitor a grid penalty for an unsafe release if they see fit.
A reprimand, which is seen as a lesser penalty than a grid drop, would see Hamilton drop 10 places on the grid as it would be his third of the season. Hamilton's other two reprimands this season came in Bahrain for reversing in the pit lane at the end of the race and in Russia for rejoining the track the wrong side of a bollard during a practice session. At last year's Belgian Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat was given a reprimand for not paying attention as he was released in the pit lane during a Friday practice session.
When Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe was asked by Sky Sports if there had been a problem with Hamilton's car as he left the pits, he said: "You can see it's a very, very tight garage here and he was right butted up against all the Ferrari equipment so it's quite a tight line, so I guess that's the root of the problem."
Hamilton will report to the stewards at 12:30 along with Mercedes team manager Ron Meadows to explain the incident.