Lewis Hamilton was slapped with a penalty at the Austrian Grand Prix as he struggled to keep his Mercedes on the track.
The Brit qualified fifth on the grid, putting him in a decent position. And he got a great start by making the most of Lando Norris scrapping with Lance Stroll to move up a place on the first lap.
However, it soon became clear that the seven-time world champion was having problems. Instead of pressuring the Ferraris ahead of him, Hamilton had to worry about the marauding Norris on his gearbox.
And his fellow Brit was complaining a lot over the radio. The McLaren man had spotted Hamilton going off the track several times, and Norris' team made it clear that they were raising it with the race director.
Soon after, Hamilton was shown the black-and-white flag signifying he was on his final warning. As he was told about that, he snapped back: "I can't keep it on the track – the car won't turn!"
Clearly it remained a problem as, a few minutes later on lap 18, he went over the white lines again. The stewards continued the zero-tolerance policy they have enforced all weekend long, duly handing the Brit a five-second time penalty.
Hamilton was certainly not happy about it. But it was not his penalty that he was complaining about – his ire was directed at the fact that Sergio Perez in front of him was yet to be given a similar punishment.
"This guy has been off every single time! At turn 10 again," shouted the 38-year-old, the frustration evident in his voice. Shortly afterwards, the Mexican was shown the black-and-white flag to warn him that he too was now on thin ice.
It wasn't even yet half distance in the race and several other drivers were also picking up similar penalties. Yuki Tsunoda was punished for several track limits violations, as was Carlos Sainz, while Esteban Ocon was also handed a similar punishment – though his came for an unsafe release during a pit stop which impeded Logan Sargeant.
Hamilton, meanwhile, had more to worry about than just penalties. Norris was showing excellent pace in his upgraded McLaren and clearly had superior straight-line speed, as evidence by the overtake the younger Brit pulled on his compatriot to move up into fourth place.
