Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated after being given a warning for exceeding track limits at the Austrian Grand Prix - but was far from alone in encountering the issue.
The Brit still had around 20 laps remaining and was chasing down Max Verstappen for a podium finish when he received a black and white warning flag telling him to stop exceeding track limits. Hamilton was told that any more incidents of him leaving the track would see him handed a time penalty and initially felt hard done by.
“That’s BS,” Hamilton said over the team radio, before asking: “Are other people getting it? There’s loads of people going off.”
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Mercedes confirmed to the Brit that stewards were taking a hardline stance and plenty of others drivers found themselves in the same boat, replying: “Affirm. We’re seeing a couple of people already with penalties and a lot of warnings.”
Hamilton was able to keep his car on the track for the remainder of the race and ensure he was not penalised. But by the time the race ended, X drivers had been handed five-second time penalties.
Fellow Lando Norris was amongst those penalised for repeatedly exceeding track limits, with Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu also hit for the same offence.
George Russell also landed a five-second penalty for his collision with Sergio Perez on the opening lap which saw the Red Bull forced to retire from the race, with Gasly given a further penalty for colliding with Sebastian Vettel later in the race.
Gasly found himself in further hot water with the stewards as he was noted for failing to serve his penalties at his pit stop.
Hamilton was one of multiple drivers to be racing on warnings by the end of the race with the likes of Max Verstappen, Mick Schumacher and Carlos Sainz Jr all running the risk of a penalty.
Despite being on the edge for the final 20 laps, Hamilton secured a top three finish and a return to the podium, helped by Sainz’s misfortune.
The Ferrari was closing in on teammate Charles Leclerc and ready to challenge for the lead when the power unit on his Ferrari failed spectacularly and his car burst into flames. Sainz was luckily able to escape the inferno having struggled to jump out of his car as it rolled backwards and the fire intensified.
Verstappen finished second despite complaining about his “unpredictable” Red Bull earlier in the race as he struggled to keep pace with Ferrari at their home race.
