Lewis Hamilton was penalised by Formula One stewards for turning up late to a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
The press conference started just after 1:30pm without Hamilton, as he turned up two or three minutes later. The seven-time world champion was forced to slide his way through journalists to avoid getting in the way of the camera before taking his seat.
Hamilton was reprimanded for his lateness. The stewards sent a note to the Mercedes team manager on Friday morning to confirm the driver was in trouble. Hamilton was speaking to the press ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The short note read: "The team representative is required to report to the stewards at 11:15 [on Friday], in relation to the incident below... alleged breach of Article 19.1 a) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations - late attendance of the press conference."
Although Hamilton was late to Thursday afternoon's press conference, he was worth listening to. He provided an update on his F1 future, with his Mercedes deal set to expire at the end of this year. Hamilton is expected to sign a contract extension.
He also insisted he has full faith in Mercedes after going 19 months without a race victory, the longest drought of his F1 career to date. Hamilton, who has won a record eight British GPs, would love to end that torrid spell at Silverstone on Sunday.
He said: "It is taking longer for us to get where we want to be. I believe we will get there. We just have to work and chip away at it."
Speaking to Sky Sports, Hamilton insisted he's having no second thoughts about committing his future to Mercedes. He said: "That [leaving] is not what I'm thinking. Before the end of the season we'll be already well into the contract.
"I still have 100 per cent faith in this team. I'm hoping to be here a lot longer. I feel like I've got another five years in me at least, no? Let's see."
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff is also confident Hamilton will not change his mind. Speaking at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Wolff said: "I'm still very confident.
"They want to do it super, to every detail and sometimes you can have a situation where everything is carved out. This is not a money discussion at all. It is about the future, what is it that we want to do right and optimise? We're not talking anything anymore about duration, money, all of that - it's other topics."
Hamilton was also asked for his thoughts on the threat of Just Stop Oil disrupting Sunday's race. He said: "I support peaceful protests... From my perspective, and my team’s perspective, we are focused on sustainability and we believe in what people [the protesters] are fighting for and we are making those changes as a sport.
"But safety is key. We don’t want to put them in harm’s way and we don’t want to put anyone else in harm’s way. If there was to be one [a protest] we hope it is not on track."
