Lewis Hamilton gets five-place grid penalty for Italian Grand Prix
1st September 2025Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix, after failing to slow down for yellow flags at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Ferrari
Hamilton has been slapped with a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming Italian Grand Prix, his first as a Ferrari driver, as the seven-time world champion reportedly did not slow down significantly enough during double waved yellows before the Dutch GP.
The seven-time world champion was on a reconnaissance lap, ahead of the Dutch GP, and as he was racing through the final banked corner, he darted into the pit lane, under double yellows. The incident was noted by race control before the race got underway, and they opted to investigate the incident after the race.
All of the teams and drivers, according to the stewards’ report, were informed that double-waved yellow flags would be waved on the final corner due to the nature of the track. It was to ensure the safety of those on the grid, setting up the dummy grid, and those inside the pit lane.
The stewards also confirmed that, in addition to looking at the telemetry data in their systems, they also asked Ferrari to provide them with their telemetry data, which delayed the decision result.
In the stewards’ report, they stated that Hamilton entered the double yellow sector 20kph less than he had at the same point during practice, and reduced his throttle application from 10% to 20%, whilst also braking 70 meters earlier when he entered the pit lane.
As such, the officials believed Hamilton’s reduced speed did not constitute reducing his speed ‘significantly,’ as stated in the regulations. In addition, they did not believe Hamilton’s entry road speed was ‘greatly’ reduced either. They said:
“The data showed that the driver had entered the double yellow sector approximately 20kph less than his speed at the same point in practice sessions, had reduced throttle application in the order of 10% to 20% and had lifted and braked 70 metres earlier when entering the pit lane.
“We did not consider that a 20kph reduction in speed at a double-waved yellow sector constituted reducing speed ‘significantly’. We also did not consider the speed at which the driver entered the pit entry road as being at a ‘greatly’ reduced speed.”
According to the stewards, they did make mitigations to Hamilton’s incident as the driver attempted to reduce his speed, and had broken earlier, prompting a five-place grid penalty instead of the usual 10 for this type of incident.
Additionally, Hamilton picked up his first set of penalty points in a period of 12 months as the officials slapped two points onto his super licence (two in a period of 12 months).
Hamilton will head to Italy for the second time this year as a Ferrari driver, following the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, but this is the first time he will participate as a Ferrari driver at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
Read more Formula 1 here:
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- Oscar Piastri wins Dutch Grand Prix as Isack Hadjar seals podium
- Tyre Strategies: possible options for F1 Dutch Grand Prix
- Lance Stroll granted permission to race in Dutch Grand Prix
- FIA give update on Max Verstappen driving slowly breach
- Oscar Piastri clinches Dutch Grand Prix pole pipping Lando Norris
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
